Quarantine: A PokemonMD Reality Show
by Lasirus
Summary: 18 Pokemon, three from each gen, find themselves in a post-apocalyptic gameshow where they will battle it out for the prizes of their dreams. Contains Pokemon Anthros. It's a story similar to the Total Drama series, but is not a true crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Episode 1: Welcome to Poke-Quarantine

**-Initiation-**

"Well... this is it... Stay calm."

Six trucks carrying three Pokemon each in the back driven off to a desert location.

"Nothing bad will happen to us, right sister?"

Everyone had a good idea of what they were in for upon arrival of the mystery location.

"Years of preparation. This will only be a claw-note on the path to achieving my goals."

But they didn't know for sure. They would be certain nothing bad would happen to them.

"I hope this dump-truck won't be an indication of what's to come."

And they knew a magnificent reward would come of it.

"Then I unsheathe my sword and attack the mob. ...Snake eyes..."

But each thought it would be much less challenging than it would really be.

"They might as well give up. What chance do they have?"

However, as the trucks drew near, the anticipation grew larger and larger. And one thing was set ins stone: The only way out was to claw your way to the top of the ranks as 18 Pokemon from around the globe tested their abilities in an insane reality show: Quarantine. This was a world where no humans existed, only Pokemon. From all walks of life including rescuers, explorers, and many more. It would all be for... glory, fame, and a big check. Some have their eyes on the prize, while others came here for fun. But no one should underestimate or be underestimated. Welcome to the realm of Quarantine.

As the trucks got closer, the commotion started. Each of the six trucks contained three Pokemon.

The first truck carried a Raichu, a Charmeleon, and a Golem. Currently, the Raichu was taking a nap on the side of the Charmeleon eventually walked up to the Raichu but said nothing. He didn't seem to have a look of enthusiasm, or any admiration for the guy. But as he turned around, he saw another creature: a Golem looking a bit interested in the two.

"What are YOU looking at?" the Charmeleon, who was named Riley, asked the Golem, Stawolt.

"Uhh, I just want to know if we end up on the same team," Stawolt started. "Maybe we could... You want to be friends? I figure alliance is important and..."

"Do you just go up to everyone and do that?" Riley asked. "I work alone. Got it? We may or may not be team mates to start with, but I aint your buddy just with a snap."

The Raichu, Wren, eventually woke up to the commotion. Riley's words were starting to get to him, and he felt the need to settle the fire down to embers.

"Easy there," Wren started. "He didn't mean anything by what he said. He just wanted to form an alliance. And early in the game, the challenges are going to come down to team work. Even if you don't like it..."

"Thanks for the interruption Professor Pansy," Riley said rudely. "But no one asked you. Besides, what good would it do me?"

"Well, you would probably last longer in the game, for starters," Wren mentioned.

"Dah, he has a point Riley," Stawolt said.

Riley was a bit antisocial. He was used to working by himself instead of as a team. But when Wren brought up that tidbit, he kept his mouth shut. He had nothing to add to the discussion, and considered something Wren had said to him.

The second truck carried three more competitors, a gruff looking Granbull, a cute Pika... ahem Marill... and a relatively large Azumarill. The Marill and Azumarill were currently playing with Eevee dolls when suddenly a strong looking creature loomed over the Pikachu imposter.

"Gee, what a cute outfit," the Granbull, named Muffy, taunted as she brought her paw to the Marill, Abigale's head, just about ready to kick her Pikachu helmet off. "Would be a shame if it turned into football practice. Why don't you take it off?"

"No!" Abigale shouted. "I put so much work into my costume! My sister helped me with it. We don't have the money to make a new one!"

"Well maybe you shouldn't be wearing it in the first place," Muffy said before she charged up for a kick. However, she was immediately stopped.

"Not so fast, you brute!" the Azumarill named Ruce shouted before walking up to Muffy and raising a fist. "Do you enjoy crushing children's dreams!? She put her life savings into that and you just want to destroy it!? Why don't I destroy you you ugly mutt!?"

Ruce wasn't as big as Muffy was, but imagine Ruce is a girl off to a giant green castle, and Muffy was the cowardly Luxray. That's exactly what happened as Muffy started to show signs of fear in her eyes as she backed off. Muffy was deathly intimidated by Ruce. Imagine that.

"I love you, big sis," Abigale said cheerfully.

"Don't worry, it doesn't look like she has the guts to try that again," Ruce said reassuringly.

The third truck carried a dastardly creature: A cackling Grumpig who called himself Grant. Inside the truck were two more Pokemon, a Gardevoir named Lilly who had a book in her face, and Kiki, a Combuseken who was concentrating martial arts right now.

"Mwahahaha!" Grant cackled."Soon, Grant the Dastardly will become a household name. EVERYONE will cower in fear before ME!"

As Grant resumed laughter, Lilly and Kiki stopped what they were doing and stared at Grant. They were angry with his display.

"Hush, idiot," Lilly said, not intimidated. "No one's afraid of you, and I'm trying to read right now."

"No one?" Grant asked. "Time to unveil my latest. Tremble before the power of... the device!" Eventually, Grant pulled out what looked like a laser gun. "...The name is still pending." Grant pointed it right at Lilly, who rolled her head at the device. Then Grant made the error of showing it to Kiki.

"It's a toy, nimrod!" Kiki yelled, slapping the "ray gun" out of Grant's hooves. The fact it didn't shatter upon hitting the floor suggested further it was a mere plastic toy.

"Ha! Some toy!" Grant taunted. "It's armor is impenetrable. Only I could devise a gun so..."

Before Grant could pick the toy up, Kiki walked over and stomped on it, smashing it to pieces. Grant stared at the smashed gun and turned to Kiki, furious with what she did.

"You shall pay for this you insolent wench!" Grant said. Lilly said nothing, she just tried to read her book again.

But the tensions only flared hotter with the fourth truck, as a tall Prinplup, a gigantic buff Purugly, and a sharply dressed Gallade were all inside.

"Ugh, is this ride going to end soon?" the Prinplup, who was named Dylan spouted off.

"It might if you clam up for just a minute or two!" the buff Purugly named Percy said.

"I can talk all I want!" Dylan yelled. "Why don't you!"

"Please! Silence! Concentration required," the Gallade, Chauncey, orated eventually.

"And who made YOU the boss of me!?" Dylan shouted.

"Fists or tail?" Percy asked Dylan, trying intimidate him.

"I said clam it fatty! Dylan asked.

"Tail it is," Percy said before releasing his tail from his waist, revealing a less top bulky Purugly who was still pretty strong looking. ...And wasn't really fat at all. Eventually, he wrapped his tail around Dylan and squeezed hard, causing him serious discomfort.

"No no no, I cannot think cleverly," Chauncey said, also being discomforted.

Things got even weirder in the fifth truck. A cool but cumbersome Krookodile was playing dice with a Watchog dressed as a knight. Just standing there was a Bisharp with a large banner on his back.

"The Dragonite is sound asleep," the Watchog by the name of Dustin said. "Come young comrade, together we shall slay thee. Prepare thy spells Drenig the Demolisher! While it's still sleeping, thou must strike!" Dustin was talking in a deep tone that was obviously not his real voice.

"No warrior who caught you striking an opponent while they slept would be your comrade in battle," the Bisharp, Yoshi interrupted.

"Where did you come from?" Dustin asked. "Speak thy name."

"Ay man, not cool!" Drenig said as Yoshi rained on their parade. "We're playing Dungeons and Dragonites, man. This aint no real battle."

"Yeah, we're just role-playing," Dustin stated, talking in a tone that was more likely his real voice.

"Hmmm, I guess if it's just that it's fine," Yoshi said. "But you wouldn't get away with that in a real battle."

"You think this is a game?" Dustin asked in his deep voice again before reverting to his real voice. "Why not?"

"Because it's dishonorable," Yoshi said simply. "It's what most people call cheating."

"Ay man, alright man, we won't do that then," Drenig said, still rubbed the wrong way.

One last truck carried three last Pokemon, a Pancham, a Malamar, and a seriously narcissistic Frogadier.

"Oh boy!" The young Pancham, Pudge said."I can't believe my parents let me join the show. I can't wait to jump right in!"

"Wait... for what, for you to get booted off?" The Frogadier, Jet said.

"Oh yeah? Bring it, big guy," Pudge said, thinking he was merely playing. But Pudge was misinformed.

"You have a lot to learn about the real world," Jet said. "You think you can just talk big and beat the competition that way? WRONG! You were unfortunate to meet me. I'll show you just how naive you are little guy."

"You much yourself, young man," interrupted Aria the Malamar. Pudge stood and stared at Aria as she spoke.

"Whoa... your voice is pretty," Pudge said.

"Thank you, young panda," Aria said before rubbing his head. "Many people think so."

"Ha! That won't get you anywhere!" Jet said. "You need skill to win."

Aria just stared at Jet. "Puh-lease," she said. "You think I'd be here if all I could do was sing? If you think mere athletics will get you far? Hun... You have oatmeal for brains."

"Hmph, I take it you are intimidated," Jet said.

Neither Aria nor Pudge could help but laugh at the upstart Frogadier for that comment.

**-Welcome to Quarentine-**

The time had come, the trucks had all stopped inside a large facility, and everyone was unloaded to see a huge wall of mist. They all watched the mist until a figure eventually stepped slowly out of the mist. Once he stepped out of the mist field, he revealed himself as a middle-aged male Bibarel with a cane and some expensive looking clothing. But what was striking about him was how serious he looked.

"Good evening," he said to the group of contestants. "You are now in QUARANTINE. As you'd guess, the only way out is to be the last one standing. I am Bertram, and I will be the admin of this little contest. Now..."

Suddenly, he heard another fit of laughter and caught Jet cracking up. This greatly displeased Bertram.

"You? You're the host of this show!? This is too good. I'm taking orders from "Bibs." Can anyone imagine a more silly host than..."

Bertram slammed his cane into the ground before a bolt of lightning struck Jet, knocking him to the ground.

"Any more smart-aleks, legs?" Bertram asked.

"He he he, Legs? Is that the best you..." Jet started before being struck once again.

"You'd be surprised how much we Bibarel can do," Bertram said. "Now, if you want to remain concious, I suggest you refrain from making another word."

Jet just lied there in a mangled mess. He wasn't moving, even when one of the competitors touched him.

"I think you killed him mister," Pudge said.

"I did not kill him," Bertram said walking over to Jet and noticing he had fainted. "Oh... Oh well, seventeen competitors left then. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do, except maybe..." Bertram paused and then turned around back to the mist. "NURSE!"

Eventually, an Audino rushed out of the mist and ran over to Jet. She was actually quite concerned.

"You really should be more careful with the competitors," she said before popping a Reviver seed in Jet's mouth. She then sent a pink blast at Jet and eventually he came to.

"Everyone, this is Betty," Bertram said. "She will be here to assist you if you are ever seriously injured. And if you had not guessed by our frog-legged friend, you do not WANT to be seriously injured. Right Jet?"

Jet still seemed a bit sore, but he also seemed to show more respect to Bertram.

"So when does the game start?" Muffy asked loudly. "Let's go!"

"You should open your mouth an inch wider next time," Percy told Muffy.

"Oh you shut... yer..." Muffy started before taking one look at Percy. She started to shiver uncontrollably, and didn't find it a good idea to press on.

"No!" Bertram called. "Before that, let's get things situated. First off, we have eighteen Pokemon here, and in mere minutes you will be split into teams of two. When you are chosen for a team, you may go into the team bunker where you will find four bunk-beds and a large cot."

"Do these bunkers include a board game?" Pudge asked.

"Maybe some books to read?" Lilly asked. Lilly didn't notice, but she had a certain someone staring at her before letting out a sigh.

"I already know which team I choose to be on," Chauncey said before walking over to Lilly. Suddenly, Bertram slammed his cane again to get everyone's attention.

"Silence!" Bertram cried. "There will be NO CHOOSING! You will be situated into a team at random." After that tidbit, his voice became more calm. "We also have plenty of old books you can check out. We do NOT have any board games, but we DO have chances to win some during the contest."

"So just books for now?" Dylan said angrily. "Not all of us read you know!"

"Yeah, reading is boring," Pudge commented. "Makes me feel like I'm in school."

"I personally don't mind," Kiki blurted. "I actually like reading."

"Good," Bertram said, smiling at Kiki. "Hopefully the rest of you can LEARN to like reading."

"How many rooms?" Aria asked. "What say I wanted to practice my singing, but didn't want to disturb people. Am I allowed outside the bunker?"

"Trust me," Bertram said. "There are times when you will NEED to. When you need food and water, it's all provided outside the area. There are clean plantations that provide fruits and vegetables, but your protein can only be found outside. There will be primitive Pokemon to hunt, including lost undeveloped cousins of popular meat Pokemon such as Grumpig and Combuseken and Miltanks! ...Huh? No Miltank contestants. Oh well, it may still shock you to find out where all your meat come from."

"Cannibalizing on Grumpig?" Grant asked before smiling. "Sounds evil." Even though he had a smile, he was quivering a bit.

"Water can also be found in the plantations," Bertram said.

"Can't we just make our own?" Ruce asked.

"No!" Bertram cried. "The use of known moves is forbidden. Anyone caught using moves will be disqualified and sent home!"

"Ugh this is complete trash," Riley muttered under his breath.

"To catch food and carry water, there will be buckets and supplies for making tools provided," Bertram added. "Now... It is time to sort the teams. Every few days there will be a challenge. Players will not only be playing for reward, but for the chance of staying in the game. Just be warned... Most of the challenges will see someone going home afterward.

Bertram walked to the crowd and stared the contestants down, even the ones who were bigger than him. Even though he may not SEEM that intimidating, his stare showed seriousness, telling them what could potentially happen. "...However, the challenge we will be having today will be an exception. In honor of the first challenge, and initiation, no one will be sent home. ...Today. But come the next challenge, fear should be kept in mind."

"I look forward to what you have, Bert-san," Yoshi said.

"Very well... Let us begin," Bertram said. Eventually the mist started to disappear and what could be seen in the background was a big cylinder with a door in it. "Step inside the cylinder. You will see a giant merry-go-round which will determine your fate."

"Merry-Go-Round?" Stawolt said happily. "I've always wanted to ride one, but mom and dad said I'm too heavy and I'll break them."

"Splendid," Bertram said. "Then this should be *ahem* enjoyable for you. Now... single file please..."

...Of course that didn't fly. Jet raced off to the cylinder, wanting to get their first. Muffy raced off after him, and tried pushing him over to get in there before him. Pudge wasn't far behind, also wanting to get in first. But the others hesitated. ...Until Dustin shouted a war-cry.

"Onward to victory!" he said in is LARPing voice before rushing off.

"Ey man, wait up!" Drenig blurted before running after Dustin.

"Come on sis!" Abigale said before running off next. Ruce ran right after her, not having much to say, except she was trying her hardest to run in sync with her sister.

"Aint getting nowhere by standing around," Wren spoke up, bolting toward the cylinder. Stawolt slowly followed him to the cylinder as well, but by then Kiki, Dylan, and Grant had passed him. Meanwhile, Chauncey was walking over to Lilly and held his hand out.

"Well... shall we?" Chauncey asked. Lilly just stared at him. She didn't know what to think.

"I... don't even know you," she said before walking off. Chauncey felt a bit rejected.

"Wait, give me a chance," He said before trying to catch up to her. That left Riley, Percy, Yoshi, and Aria left behind. Percy, Yoshi and Aria slowly walked toward the Cylinder, but Riley waited for everyone to get in before walking inside.

The huge merry-go-round mentioned by Bertram had eighteen slots. The Pokemon all chose a slot to stand in before eventually the floor around the merry-go-round, and the walls around it started to tilt down into two ramps, each leading to two doors on both sides of the merry-go-round. Eventually, you could see Bertram at the lever.

"Here's how this will work," he started. "I pull this lever, and everyone becomes dizzy. Eventually your slot will tilt and you will fall down one of the two ramps. The ramp will lead to your team bunker. This wheel is fixed so that only nine Pokemon can fall on each side. And let me make this perfectly clear: There will be no trading, no switching, and no whining. All teams are final. And to reiterate, ALL TEAMS ARE FINAL! And now, without further delay, the sorting ceremony will officially as of right now begin."

As soon as Bertram pulled the lever, all the contestants spun around. After about a minute of spinning, the first slot tilted. It was Pudge's slot, and it fell to the slope on the right. Not long after, the slot belonging to Abigale tilted her into the slope on the left. After a while, Muffy's slot tilted, and sent her sliding down the left slope, right before Wren's slot tilted him into the right slope.

Down at the bottom of the slope, Abigale and Muffy were dusting themselves off. And Muffy started to look at Abigale with nefarious intent. Muffy stretched her paws forward while starting to chase Abigale. Abigale just moved slowly back in time with Muffy's advancement. And then... the next competitor fell down the left slope, none other that Abigale's sister Ruce, who immediately got up, ran over to Muffy, and punched her in the face.

"Leave my sister alone!" Ruce yelled at Muffy. ...Muffy then started to cry, as if she'd been seriously injured even though Ruce's fist hardly dented her. If Muffy was really a bully, she wasn't a very good one.

Back at the wheel, the next slot tilted. Dustin's slot sent him down the right slope as he ran down with his plastic sword thrust forward.

"CHARGE!" Dustin yelled as he ran to the bottom where Pudge and Wren. Pudge and Wren quickly moved out of the way, just in time to watch Dustin crash into the wall of the bunker thanks to the force that kept him in motion.

Dylan was next, as his slot tilted into the left field. Afterward, Aria and Kiki were sent right. In another minute, Yoshi and Jet were sent left. Afterward, Stawolt's slot started to move as well. ...But under Stawolt's weight, it had a hard time doing so.

"Grrrrr," Bertram growled as he walked over to a control panel and pushed a lever under Stawolt's name. The slot finally jettisoned Stawolt down the right side. His massive rocky frame rumbled down the slope and caused everyone there to run in fear. In anticipation, they watched Stawolt roll toward the wall, and were worried he would crash right through. ...Fortunately he did not. He stopped right before crashing.

Six Pokemon left as the wheel got faster. Next, Lilly's slot tilted her to the left. Chauncey didn't see her fall when he became the next competitor to, but too bad for him he fell right. When Chaunce looked around at his team, he got confused.

"Wait... where's Lilly?" Chaunce asked. Bertram was there watching.

"On the other side, away from creeps like you," Bertram told Chauncey angrily.

"No!" Chauncey cried. "I have to be on her team! Can't I switch sides?" Bertram got even angrier at Chauncey.

"What part of "ALL TEAMS ARE FINAL" did not register with you?" Bertram asked. "Was it the "Final" part? Maybe the "All" part!"

Dustin was looking on, hoping to have his best friend on his team. "Come forth Drenig," he said.

Dustin watched as someone finally fell onto his side, but it wasn't Drenig. It was Riley. Riley got up after landing at the bottom of the slope and dusted himself off.

"Ugh, stupid careless beaver," Riley said to himself.

"What about Drenig?" Dustin asked Bertram out of character.

"Still on the wheel," Bertram said. He then looked over to the wheel as the third to last slot tilted. The little devil pig, Grant, officially made it over to the left side, leaving only Percy and Drenig left.

"COME FOURTH DRENIG!" Dustin shouted back in character. Finally, someone fell to their side, and he was big. ...Very big. As he got to the bottom of the slope, he shook his head off and looked at his final team. And the first thing that caught his eye... was a happy Watchog.

"Great tidings, young knight," Dustin said, helping his friend up. "Welcome to the knights of the round, Drenig." The Krookodile held his fist out as he bumped it against Dustin's, showing signs of their friendship.

That meant Percy was finalized for the other team. As he fell down the slope, he heard some cheering going on from his team mate.

"Yes! YES!" Grant shouted obnoxiously.

"Can't lose with you on our team," Dylan complimented.

"Sheesh!" Jet started annoying. "Meat-head shows up, everyone's like "Yay, we can't lose!" Yet the greatest athlete on the planet doesn't get the same welcome?"

"Maybe it's because I have a sense of humility that makes me pleasant to be around," Percy retorted.

"I'll give YOU humility!" Jet said. Eventually he started to summon a water move, one that didn't go unnoticed.

"HEY! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT USING SPECIAL MOVES!" Bertram screamed.

"Uhhh, oh sorry, I forgot B-guy," Jet excused.

"I'm letting you off with a warning this time," Bertram said. "But next time, you will be expelled from the game, got it!"

"But then again, maybe we can," Dylan said to himself.

Over on the other side, Dustin was just about ready to name his team.

"All hail the Knights Of The Round," he proclaimed.

"Sorry, but you don't get to choose your names," Bertram. "You are both assigned a team. Do you see the icy blue markings on your side left team?"

The left team looked at their bunker and noticed two different shades of light blue coloring their side. On the right side where yellow and black stripes.

"Anyone who sees icy blue shades on their side of the wall is now officially on Team Artic-Uno," Bertram said. "The ones who see yellow and black are team Zap-Dos. Welcome to your new home."

The slopes then bent inward, ensuring no one could climb back up. And since not a single player could fly, it made it that much easier.

"We of the community hope you enjoy your stay," Bertram said before walking away at the top of the bunkers.

"Hey! Get back here!" Kiki cried out, but to no avail. He was already out of ear shot by the time she called.

**-Hello, I'm On Team Blank-**

The contestants looked around their areas and saw more than just a bunker. There also seemed to be a storage shed outside each of the bunkers. ...But what were the storage sheds for? Riley was the first one to aproach a shed.

"What's this here for?" Riley said as he went inside and saw a bench at the back of it.

"I see you found a sound-proof confessional shed," Bertram's voice said inside the storage shed. "In here you can unload all your thoughts in private. Thought you may want audience to hear, but not your team mates. Have fun."

"Hmmm, I suppose I could use this right now," Riley said before he closed the door and sat down.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"I don't like working in a team," Riley said. "I've spent so much of my life working alone, and for a good reason. Every time I work on a team, I get stuck with a bunch of half-wits, who are completely incompetent at what they're supposed to be doing. ...But maybe this could be a new experience for me. They cannot be ALL bad, can they? ...Oh who am I kidding? The only semi-competent player on my team is Kiki. All the good players are on the other side. What could possibly go wrong?"

-After Confessional-

"Now it is time for your first look at your new home," Bertram's voice blared over the loudspeaker.

The Pokemon on team Zap-Dos walked cautiously to their bunker where they opened to see not much but a campfire stove, a cot, some bunk-beds, cans of food, a bookshelf stocked with some old books, and a lone table. As you would expect the first impression was not a good.

"Hmmm, I haven't done any survival-horror role-plays," Dustin said before walking in.

"Aay wish I could say something positive," Drenig started. "But this place reeks!"

"But it's home for now," Aria mentioned. "We'll just have to make do with it."

Chauncey B-lined for the table, and started to write on paper with a pen, both things he brought with him as a luxury item. Everyone was allowed a luxury item, and pen and paper was Chauncey's choice. It's technically two items, but the producers allowed it.

"Hmmm, what rhymes with "resistance," Chauncey asked himself.

The others were trying to think of a good word. Eventually, Wren came up with one.

"What about "existence?" Wren asked. Chauncey's mind lit up with that.

"Amazing, that works perfectly!" he proclaimed before jotting down what Wren told him.

"Anything I can do to help," Wren said happily.

Stawolt looked at the beds. Deep down, he felt tired.

"Duh... the beds aren't labeled," Stawolt said. "Which one am I supposed to sleep on?"

"You can sleep under my bunk if you want," Wren suggested.

"Daw, thanks," Stawolt said. "...Uhhh, what's your name again?"

"They call me Wren," he said.

Meanwhile, Dustin and Drenig were picking their own beds together.

"You take the top bunk," Drenig said. "I can't say I think heights are cool."

Dustin happily accepted as he climbed his bed and placed his sword down. Like Chauncey, Dustin brought a luxury item, which was his favorite LARPing sword.

Meanwhile, Pudge was starting to take a shine to Aria. He still admired her voice.

"Hey, pretty lady?" Pudge asked. "Can I sleep with you?"

"First off, my name's Aria," she said. "And I'm not a lady, I'm actually quite old. But sure, you can if you want."

Pudge looked at Aria and noticed she was being assertive with him, which kinda made him feel intimidated.

"Uhhh, okay," Pudge said, accepting anyway. Pudge then helped himself to the bottom bunk, not even bothering to ask.

"Ahem, please sleep on top," Aria said, still being assertive.

"Yyyes maam," Pudge said, retreating to the top.

Riley, as you would expect chose the lone cot. Leaving Chauncey and Kiki to share a bed. Right now, Kiki was practicing tai-chi, since Chauncey was still writing his poem. Kiki didn't have the chance to ask if he wanted the top or bottom bunk.

"Doth we squander our existence on opposite sides of the resistance," Chauncey spouted out loud. Kiki shook her head at Chauncey.

"Forget about Lilly," Kiki said. "She's not on our side. Deal with it. Now do you want the top or bottom bunk?"

"Your tone is completely uncouth!" Chauncey cried. "You have not been strucken by an arrow..."

"Stricken," Wren corrected. "Or struck, one of the two. But not strucken."

"In any case," Chauncey continued. "You have not been stricken by an arrow of love. So back off."

"You only like her cause she's a Gardevoir," Kiki said. "You wouldn't even care if she was something else."

"Silence!" Chauncey yelled. "Let me just get back to my literature!"

"Fine," Kiki said. "But I will take the top bunk if that's the case."

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Ugh, what nonsense!" Chauncey cried. "To think someone as rude as her exists on this planet? She is lucky we are on the same team, but that doesn't mean she's any less uncouth. ...Hmmm, I really need to learn some more words. I hope the bunker has a thesaurus."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I can tell Chauncey is going to choose Lilly over the game," Kiki said. "And that is gonna be a big problem, cause it just may cost us a challenge or two. Or even all of them. But he does seem a bit thick-headed. I doubt getting him to see reality is going to be all that easy."

-After Confessional-

It was team Artic-Uno's turn to see the inside of their bunker, and they got much of the same response.

"Blech! This place is fowl!" Dylan yelled.

"We know, do you need to make it a statement?" Lilly asked.

"I dunno, just put a big complicated machine in the room and it looks kinda swell," Grant complimented.

"Are you a complete and total loony-toon?" Dylan asked.

"I'm EVIL!" Grant proclaimed. "Evil loves dark, gloomy places!"

"I don't think you're really evil, mister," Abigale stated. "You're just pretending."

"Silence!" Grant raved. "You doubt my evilness? Maybe I should teach you to respect... the device! ...Oh wait that stupid chicken BROKE my device!"

"What are you talking about?" Ruce asked.

"Oh, Kiki on the other team," Lilly started. "Grant was waving around a plastic toy, and it annoyed Kiki so she destroyed it. This happened while we were still in the truck. Now if you don't mind I'm going to see what kind of books they have."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Curses," he said in a sad tone. "That furry fellas onto me. Yes, truth is I'm not really evil. I just grew up watching too many cartoons. And come on, you cannot tell me the villains aren't usually cooler and more awesome than the good-guys, can you? Be honest, you know it's true. But still, playing the role of a super villain is kinda fun. Maybe I should find a way to convince them I am truly evil. ...But how?"

-After Confessional-

Percy immediately walked over to the cot, the only bed big enough to fit him.

"Mind if I call the cot anyone?" Percy asked. This was followed with a stream of confirmation allowing Percy the permission of using the cot as his bed.

Meanwhile, Ruce and Abigale were going up to one of the beds.

"Okay, you take the top bunk, I'll take the bottom bunk," Ruce said.

"Got it big sis," Abigale said before she climbed the ladder up to the top bunk. Abigale also brought a luxury item, her favorite plush-toy that she prized almost as much as her furry costume, an Eevee with a pink dress and floppy hat. Ruce's luxury item was another Eevee doll with green overalls and a wide smile.

Eventually, Dylan walked up to Ruce and tapped her shoulder.

"Uhh, she your sister?" he asked "Any reason why she's dressed as a Pikachu?"

"She really loves extravagant depictions of Pokemon," Ruce said. "That's why her costume has a colorful purple mohawk and a mismatched tail."

"Yes, but why would she dress up as one?" Dylan asked.

"I guess she just loves them that much that she wants to be just like them," Ruce said.

-Confessional Session(Dylan)-

"Okay," Dylan started. "I have seen so much stupid stuff in my life, but a Marill that wants to be a Pikachu with a mohawk and a fluffy tail!? Is this a trend or something? Or am I living in a fun-house right now?"

-After Confessional-

Grant had someone breathing down his neck, looking angry. It was Muffy the Granbul.

"Hey, evil punk!" Muffy said. "Maybe you'd like to make another device and show it to me. I'll smash it right in your face!"

"Such strength," Grant said. "Such fury and carefree-ness! You are worthy of being my sidekick." ...That was a mistake.

"Sure!" Muff said before she swung her leg around and chopped Grant's hip with it, sending him to the floor. "How's THAT for a "side kick?"

"Hmm, you got humor down at least," Percy said, looking up from his cot. "Do you have some humility? Cause if I catch you harassing people, you'll be singing soprano. Capiche?" Muffy started to get teary eyed again.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"No! I can't let people intimidate me like this," she said. "Not again! I worked hard getting where I am right now! I don't want to relive my past. I don't even want to think about it. I'm a bully now! They can all kiss my tooth for all I care! ...Awww, but he's so big." Miff started to shiver.

-After Confessional-

Lilly was right next to a bed when Yoshi walked up to her and held his hand out.

"May I?" he asked. Lilly gave him another look.

"I don't know you either, so why would I dance with you?" Lilly asked.

"No, I meant may I have the bottom bunk," Yoshi confirmed.

"Oh, by all means, go ahead," Lilly said to Yoshi as he picked his bed.

The others had no particular alliances with anyone else, but Miff allowed Grant to sleep on the same bed with him, and surprisingly Grant forgave Miff for kicking him. Grant took top while Miff took bottom. Over by the remaining bed, Dylan was going for the ladder when Jet immediately jumped onto his head and onto the top bunk.

"Hah! Right where I belong! At the top," Jet said.

Dylan got angry at him and immediately shook the bed as hard as he could. Eventually, Jet fell off and Dylan climbed up.

"Top bunk's mine, stupid!" Dylan yelled. "You sleep on the bottom."

"...Why always me," Jet said, staying on the ground.

**-Trials Of Three-**

In about an hour since they got here, a loud alarm blared off, disrupting many of the things the contestants were doing.

"Argh! Do you mind!" Dylan roared at the sound of the alarm. Ruce noticed Abigale was scared of the sound and decided to comfort her with a big hug. Everyone else was scrambling outside.

But on the other side, things were even more hectic as a certain panda was running around screaming.

"AHH! THERE'S NO HOPE FOR US LEFT, IT'S ALL OVER!" Pudge screamed.

"Calm down little one," Bertram's voice called out once the alarm shut off. "That's not a danger warning. Or, I should say it's not a death warning. There will be PLENTY of danger though. Come outside."

Eventually everyone was face to face with a big wall containing a screen, a big slot below the screen, a rope inside the wall right below the mechanical slot, and of course a pit of mud.

"I'm sure you are ALL familiar with tug-of-war," Bertram's voice said. "To start the show off, we will have not one, but THREE challenges, each putting the three trinities of excellence to the test: Strength, speed, and smarts. First, we shall have the test of strength. Now, choose the three strongest competitors on your team and be prepared."

On team Artic-Uno, there was pretty much a unanimous decision on who would go.

"Well, I don't mean to toot my own horn," Percy started on team Artic-Uno. "But isn't it obvious?"

"Yeah, it kinda is," Lilly said. "But who else should go?"

Muffy was starting to shake nervously but eventually stepped forward and raised her paw.

"Me! I should go!" she said, quickly changing attitudes from nervous to gruff.

"What about you, sis?" Abigale asked.

"Huh? What about me?" Ruce asked.

"You're strong. You can do it," Abigale responded. Ruce started to flex her arms to see if she really did have what it takes. Ruce actually was quite strong for her species.

"Yeah! I'll do it!" Ruce said, walking by Percy and Muffy.

"Time to make those Zap-Dos punks cry!" Muffy shouted.

Team Zap-Dos however had a much harder time deciding.

Riley stayed away from the group. He didn't think highly of ANYONE there. "Hmph, they're all useless," he said to himself.

"Okay, we're probably going against Percy," Aria mentioned. "Do we have ANYONE who can beat Percy?"

"Hey, why dun we make it harder for those punks by giving them some heavy opposition," Drenig suggested.

"It makes sense Drenig," Kiki said. "But you and Stawolt are the only heavy ones we got."

"Eh, you want me to play?" Stawolt asked.

"Yes, you and Drenig definitely," Kiki said. "But maybe we should balance the heavy with someone who is strong."

...No response from the others. A few of them even scratched the back of their heads, nervous that they were not strong enough.

"Fine, I guess I'll go," Kiki said.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"I can't help but feel a bit sorry for the other team," Percy started. "After all, you're looking at someone who can bench-press over five-hundred and eighty pounds. Me verses them? It doesn't really seem fair, does it?"

-After Confessional-

Eventually the teams were set. Percy, Muffy and Ruce on one side, Stawolt, Drenig and Kiki on the other.

"I'm sure you all know how tug of war works," Bertram said. "So if I need to explain that if you're pulled into the mud you are out, then I can guarantee you have been living in a cave for your entire life. You will notice a big slot below the screen. It covers a window that lets you see who the opponents are, but it will not be revealed until the match is over. Now... Take your positions. Quickly now, we're on a timed schedule. ...Aaaaaand... TUG!"

Percy decided to go a bit easy on the other team to start with as the other team tugged with all their might. Because of Percy's current lenience, Artic-Uno was behind.

"What's going on!" Ruce asked. "There can't be anyone stronger than Percy on the other side."

"Are you even trying!?" Muffy asked.

"I... I don't want it to be too easy," Percy said.

"I don't care what you want!" Ruce said. "We have to stay strong!"

Eventually, Ruce was hanging on the edge of the mud pit. She was about to fall in. And eventually, she did.

Over on the other side, a symbol above the top-left of the screen in the form of a blue X lit up.

"Attention team Zap-Dos, that X means you have annihilated a victim," Bertram said on the screen.

"Huh, this is a bit easier than I expected," Kiki said out loud. "Are they not using Percy?"

"I'd expect him to be stronger than this," Drenig said.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"I tend to work with a lot of heavy tools at the mechanics shop," Drenig said. "Sometimes I even get a wagon stuck on me and I have to lift it up, usually by myself. I'm actually pretty tough when you look past my gut." Drenig then proceeded to slap his belly, something that fat characters like to do when they're feeling proud.

-After Confessional-

"GRRRR! Percy, knock it off!" Muffy screamed, wanting Percy to get serious.

"You know, I could just let go and have you deal with them," Percy said to Muffy. It seemed like the two were about to form a rivalry.

"Percy, PLEASE! My reputation is on the line!" Eventually, Muffy started to tilt into the mud. She was about to fall in. "I CAN'T GO BACK TO THE WAY THINGS WERE!" And with one last give, Muffy fell in. And on team Zap-Dos, another blue X lit up about the screen.

"Hey! That Percy guy isn't so strong after all!" Stawolt said to the team, proud that they were winning.

"Okay, no more fooling around," Percy said to himself before giving it everything he got. And surprisingly, he started to gain ground really quick.

"Huh?" Kiki said as she noticed her team was starting to head towards the mud.

"I think he just wanted to show off," Drenig commented.

Over on Percy's side, he kept grabbing the rope hand over hand, and seemed to have little trouble pulling the other team in. Kiki fell in the mud first, and that caused a yellow X to appear above the screen on team Artic-Uno's side. With a few more tugs, Drenig ended up being next, causing a second yellow X to appear. But Stawolt did not want to suffer the same fate. He tugged and tugged and tugged as hard as he could, but Percy just wasn't budging. And with a few more tugs, Stawolt too found himself in the mud, giving a two to three victory for team Artic-Uno.

...But not everyone on team Artic-Uno was happy.

"What the heck, Percy!" Ruce shouted, getting out of the mud. "You had all that strength and you didn't even use it till you were the only one left!?"

"I... I was just trying to be nice to the other team," Percy said.

"But they're the other team!" Ruce yelled. "You're not SUPPOSED to be nice to them."

"I'm gonna kill you, Percy!" Muffy roared.

"Muffy, what did you mean by what you said before you fell in?" Abigale asked as she walked up to the mudpit where her sister was.

"Huh? That's none of your business," Muffy said before climbing out. Ruce did as well. And afterward, the slot below the screen opened up and everyone was visible. Kiki saw Percy and couldn't help but feel angry that he let them eliminate two of their team mates and then show off.

"You stink, you ugly cat!" Kiki cried as she saw him.

"Hey man, you think showing off is cool!?" Drenig asked.

"Ugh, my head hurts," Stawolt said, grouping with the rest.

"...I was just trying to give you guys a chance," Percy said.

"You call that giving us a chance!?" Kiki hollered.

"Now now, let's fan the flames a bit," Bertram said over the screen. "Besides, the next event is going to happen, the trial of smarts. Please choose your three smartest players to go up. They will have to work with a word puzzle, a wire puzzle, and a number puzzle. Remember you cannot select anyone who you have already used, so the remaining three better have some athletics."

"You had me at "words," Chauncey said on team Zap-Dos. "I shall do the word puzzle."

"Okay, but I hope you're as good with them as you say you are," Aria said, unsure if it was a good idea, but had no reason to object.

"Ooh! Can I do the number puzzle?" Dustin asked.

"Why is THAT a good idea?" Kiki asked.

"We work a lot with numbers, especially with rolling dice and adding statistics," Dustin said.

"That sounds like regular role-playing, not live-action role-playing," Kiki said.

"I do both," Dustin said.

Team Zapdos looked at the four remaining contestants.

"Yeah right I'm running," Aria said. "I'll do the remaining wire puzzle," she said.

That led Wren and Pudge to join together for their partnership in the final round. ...But Riley, once again, stayed away from the group.

"Come on man, you're with us," Wren said.

"Yeah mister, come on!" Pudge proclaimed. Riley just looked back and turned away again.

"Whatever, I'll join you when the event starts," Riley said.

Over at team Artic-Uno, they too were deliberating on who to send over. One Pokemon proclaimed immediately he would join.

"He he he! Wires you say?" Grant asked. "Well, I build many great things, so I have a high familiarity with wires."

"Yeah right!" Dylan shouted.

"Oh? Think you can do any better?" Grant asked. Grant paused.

"Hmmm, no I'll take the number puzzle," he said.

"Great, either of you object to me taking the word puzzle, then?" Lilly asked No one spoke against it.

Eventually the teams were set and the beaver started talking again.

"Okay teams," Bertram said through another screen. "Return to your bunkers, I am sure you will find the puzzles there."

As the teams returned to their bunkers, they found on the table three pieces of paper each with a puzzle on it. Grant immediately ran over to his paper and got to work.

"Remember, the first team to get all three puzzles done wins," Bertram's voice said from outside the bunkers.

"Ha ha ha, this will be simple," Grant said confidently.

"Whatever," Lilly said, sitting next to Grant to work on her word puzzle. Dylan sat down as well to work on his.

Over on Team Zapdos, they were quietly working on their puzzles.

"Hmmm, a bunch of small words," Chauncey said. "I was kinda hoping he would have been more prolific with them."

"I got it! Forty five!" Dustin proclaimed.

"Huh, you're done already?" Aria asked.

"Great, if you think you are right, come out to see me," Bertram called out from outside. Dustin walked outside to confirm his test. Then Chauncey had a breakthrough.

"Yes, yes!" he sang happily. "If at first you don't succeed, try try again!" Chauncey then rushed out to show his puzzle to Bertram, leaving Aria back to complete her puzzle.

"Hmmmm, maybe if I changed the color of this wire," she said to herself.

Back with Artic-Uno, Grant was having a tougher time with his puzzle than he thought.

"Come on! Come on!" Grant said. "Somewhere in this giant brain is the answer! Where is it!"

"Maybe if you'd stop shouting and calm down, you'd know!" Dylan yelled.

"Well excuse me for not complaining about EVERY LITTLE THING!" Grant roared.

"Some of us have standards to work with!" Dylan cried.

"Hmmm, If at first you don't succeed, try try again," Lilly said before getting up. "I'll let you two idiots battle it out." With that, she walked out.

"So I'm not up to your standards?" Grant asked?

"Please," Dylan started. "You've been doing this whole "I'm an evil genius" gig ever since you got here, and I'd like you to point out even ONE PERSON IN SOCIETY who's going with that schtick too!"

"Are you calling me a FAKE!?" Grant Screamed. "I've had you and that stupid furry call me fake ever since we got here! When my latest device is perfected, oh ho, you and EVERYONE ELSE WILL..."

"Hate to interrupt you team Artic-Uno," Bertram called out. "But team Zap-Dos had just completed their last puzzle, giving the win to them this round."

"Will WHAT!?" Dylan taunted. "Oh I shall crush all who's done me wrong! Seriously, you're a JOKE!"

Suddenly, they were both grabbed by their scruff by Percy, who decided it was best to separate the two. "I think you two need a little time to cool off," he said.

-Confessional Session(Dylan)-

"Okay, meeting a fur-suiter is weird enough," Dylan said. "But NOW I'm dealing with an idiot who thinks he's an evil genius! What have I gotten myself into?"

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Even if the furry keeps her mouth shut," Grant started. "That blabbermouth penguin is already giving away my secrets! How am I supposed to keep a reputation as an evil genius when I cannot even figure out a simple wire puzzle?"

**-Tiebreaker-**

Everyone had gathered outside of the bunkers for briefing on the final event. Both teams saw Bertram on the screen and noticed a large metal wall across from them with three doors, each with a name on them. On Team Articuno: Jet, Abigale, and Yoshi. On team Zap-Dos there were doors labeled Riley, Pudge, and Wren.

"Oh, it's the third and final leg of the triathlon, isn't it?" Bertram asked.

"It thou be the last round!" Dustin said after a brief pause.

"That... was... rhetorical," Bertram mumbled. "But anyway, I'm sure you are all wondering what the prize is. Allow me introduce to you Quarantine's own prize chef: Chef Mignon."

Eventually, a big Lickilicky appeared on the screen. He looked positively jolly and wore a chef's hat and outfit. He looked adorable really. No wonder his name was Mignon.

"Hoy Comtethence," Mignon said. "Tha mwinna will envoy a ham crafid peetha mae by be." ...You could not understand a word he was saying, he had his tongue sticking out the whole time.

"Chef Mignon," Bertram addressed. "Would you be kind enough to put your tongue in your mouth?"

"Buth ive eth lithy-lithy," Mignon said.

"I guess I'LL have to say it then," Bertram said. "Mignon here is a very skilled chef and will create a giant 18-slice pizza for the winners."

Both teams started to cheer. They found the idea delicious.

"Ha! I can taste that pizza already," Jet said.

"But that's not all!" Bertram exclaimed. "The winning team will also get a present courtesy of one of my other faithfuls. Please welcome Grandma Gungho."

Mingon exited the screen and then Bertram was pushed aside by a big Conkeldurr carrying a wrench.

"Thanks Bert," Gungho said. "I've been building stuff ever since I was a Timburr."

"Ay, I fixed cars for almost that long," Drenig said, feeling like he could relate to Gungho.

"The winning team will also receive some new, fortified walls," Gungho said.

"Wait, how is that gonna benefit us?" Ruce asked.

"Around night time is when the zombies come out," Gungho said. "That's when they like to smack on the walls alot. These fortified walls are soundproof and will protect you from outside noise."

"In other words you're paying for a good nights sleep," Bertram clarified.

"And that's a prize?" Dylan asked.

"No, it's a punishment for the losers," Bertram said. "Tonight there will be zombies running the grounds."

"Zombies or actors dressed as Zombies?" Aria asked.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Bertram yelled. "Anyway... The zombies are always searching for brains and will attack anywhere that looks like it houses living creatures, including your bunkers! They can get preeeeetty loud too. But once we install those walls onto your bunker, the noise will be cut considerably. But the team that DOESN'T get the new walls, well they will have quite a hard time. Now... shall we begin the challenge?"

"Alright, my turn to be awesome!" Jet said running off to his door.

"Ugh, Raise your hands if you want to see him humiliate himself," Dylan asked. He watched as everyone except Abigale raise their hands. Dylan stared at Abigale.

"Oh? And why not?" he asked.

"Well, he does seem to be over-confident, but we do need to win the challenge," Abigale said.

"She does have a point there," Ruce said, lowering her hand.

"Yes, though we may wish him poorly now," Yoshi started. "We should remember he is part of our team. If his performance is true, then we should value his participation on our team." He then walked over to Abigale. "Come little one."

"Do you think I can do it, Big Sis?" Abigale asked Ruce.

"I don't want to set your hopes up, Abigale," Ruce said. "But do try your hardest. You may win, you may not."

"I'm scared, sister," Abigale said.

"Well swallow your feat and get going!" Dylan shouted. "You don't have a choice!"

"That was very rude of you!" Ruce yelled at Dylan.

"Yeah, well she has a challenge to attend to," Dylan squawked. "And if she were semi-COMPETENT, she would be tackling that course now!"

Abigale ran over to her door, just to get away from Dylan.

"Is that why you came here was to pick fights?" Ruce questioned.

"I came here to get away from cry-babies like YOUR SISTER!" Dylan yelled.

"Oh that settles it!" Ruce yelled. "ATTACK!" Ruce then let loose a strong uppercut that knocked Dylan to the floor. Ruce had a very short fuse, especially when it came to people talking about her sister.

"My sister is NOT A CRYBABY!" Ruce roared. Dylan sat up and rubbed his sore beak.

"Oww," he said before laying back down.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"I may have been a bit hard on him," Ruce said. "But NO ONE insults my sister like he did. You hear me? NO ONE!"

-After Confessional-

On team Zapdos there wasn't as much conflict. Wren and Pudge were ready at their doors and Riley was just heading up.

"Well, this is it little guy," Wren said to Pudge. "Don't get cold feet."

"I'm gonna tackle that course with all I got," Pudge said. ...But one thing did pick at him. "Cold feet? Why would I get cold feet."

"It's an expression for nervousness," Wren said before looking at Riley. "You ready Riley?"

"Whatever," Riley said, walking up to his door.

It was a moment of suspense for both teams. Team Zap-Dos was really feeling the pressure as Wren was starting to get cold feet himself.

"Okay Wren, you can do this," he said before he and everyone else opened the door.

When everyone entered, they saw a long running track with a long series of what looked like buttons lining the side of each track. In between three of the tracks was a big fence dividing the two teams, but you could still see each other.

"Welcome to the final round," Bertram said through a screen on the walls opposite from the fence. "Now to end this race, you will partake in... a race! ...No, nothing? Well, this race will take more than just mere speed. It will also take a little strategy as well. You will each be running these large tracks, and the first team to get all three members across the finish line wins. Here's the catch, your opponents can summon hurdles. Along the way you can press one of six buttons: three of the buttons give one of the three opponents a short hurdle for jumping, the other three gives one of them a tall hurdle for ducking. Remember these hurdles appear a bit after the buttons, so if you're a slight behind the number one spot, give that loser a taste of defeat with those buttons. Last note is that the switches AND hurdles have been set according to size of contestant, and shorter contestants will get shorter buttons and hurdles."

"Yeah yeah yeah, can we start already?" Riley interupted.

"Come on, I'm on fire, I wanna get going," Pudge said.

"Hey why should I worry?" Jet asked. "I'll be sooooo far ahead of everyone they won't even get a chance to slap a hurdle on me. And even if they could I'd just jump them."

"Again with shooting your mouth off," Yoshi said. "I swear my home would never accept someone into their realm with that ego."

"Silence and get to your positions!" Bertram said.

Everyone stopped their qualms for a minute and took their positions.

"Okay, I don't think I need to tell you how anything else works including the starting countdown," Bertram said. "So I'm just going to say START! GO GO GO! MOVE IT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? GET GOING! ...Oh, nevermind then."

Everyone of course had started once he said "Start." And the race was underway. Currently it was Jet in first, followed by Wren, then Riley, then Abigale, then Pudge, and finally Yoshi who actually wasn't that fast at all and barely keeping up with Pudge.

"Ha ha! Catch me if you can losers!" Jet said, taunting from his side of the fence.

Wren was the closest to Jet, so he pushed Jet's hurdle to try and slow him down. Jet effortlessly jumped his though. Wren tried again, but to similar results. Wren tried one more time, but once again failed to knock him forward. Meanwhile, Jet was setting up Wren's hurdles too.

"Ha! You idiot! Why are you bothering?" Jet taunted.

Over with Wren, a smile lit up his face. He had an idea.

"You couldn't outrun my grandma, and she's only a Seismitoed!" Jet taunted again. "Why don't you just leave the challenge to OOF!"

With some quick thinking, Wren slipped him the high hurdle and caught him off his guard. Causing him to jump into the high hurdle and crash. After a few seconds he fell to the ground.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha! Who didn't want to see that happen?" Bertram asked. "Well done Wren."

"Thanks Mr. B," Wren said as he got a better lead.

Meanwhile, Yoshi and Pudge were going at it. Yoshi threw Pudge a low hurdle which pudge fell over from. Afterward, Pudge assaulted Yoshi with some hurdles of his own, but whether they were low or high, Yoshi didn't have much of a problem dodging them.

"I can see the fire in your heart," Yoshi said to Pudge right before ducking under a high hurdle. "Fire is not enough. You need training, devotion, and lots of patience." Yoshi slipped him another low hurdle which Pudge also fell over. Pudge was not having an easy time with the hurdles.

...And neither was Abigale. Abigale was along with Riley, but unfortunately Riley kept summoning hurdle after hurdle, hurdles that Abigale had a really hard time jumping over, and kept losing her position until Yoshi eventually caught up.

Over with the other team mates, Ruce was getting angry at Riley for what she saw. The teams each got to watch the race on the screen in and across from their bunkers, and Ruce chose to watch outside.

"What is that bully doing to her!?" Ruce cried.

"It's just part of the game," Percy reminded.

Back at the race, Abigale was starting to feel disappointed in herself, finding it hard to sum up the courage to keep going.

"No! I don't wanna let my sister down!" Abigale cried.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Yoshi said. "Only a coward would turn his back on a friend."

With that, Yoshi summoned a few hurdles for Riley to jump over. At first, Riley seemed in good shape, but he was tripped up eventually and lost some ground, giving Abigale and Yoshi a chance to catch up.

"Thanks Yoshi," Abigale said with a smile. ...You actually couldn't tell what her emotions were under that suit, and it probably wasn't helping the challenge.

"You might have been able to run better without that costume," Yoshi mentioned.

"It's kind of a...," Abigale started. "This suit is something I hold near and dear, almost as much as my sister. I don't like taking it off."

"If those are your feelings, I suppose I have no right to tell you to take it off," Yoshi said to Abigale.

"Really?" Abigale asked. "Most people don't like this suit, but you are one of the few people I met who accept it? You're cool, Yoshi."

Yoshi couldn't help but smile inside. Abigale was actually kinda cute in her own little way.

Meanwhile, Jet was still challenging Wren. Jet had recovered from the previous mishap and was back in it.

"Two can play at that!" Jet cried as he started summoning some high hurdles. But Wren wasn't fooled and stayed on ground, running under them. Eventually Jet summoned a low hurdle and that caused Wren to crash into it, allowing Jet to regain his lead.

"Ha ha! I told ya big foot!" Jet said right before he jumped across the finish line, being the first to cross. "Oh yeah!" he said with a confident smile.

Abigale, Yoshi and Riley were all neck-and-neck, but Pudge was quickly catching up.

"Move over I'm coming through!" Pudge exclaimed, running as fast as he could.

"Abigale, you take Pudge. I'll finish Riley," Yoshi suggested.

"Okay!" Abigale said, summoning a low hurdle for Pudge to jump over. Since abigale was ahead, Pudge's hurdle was farther ahead, making it good practice for honing his hurdling skills. Pudge succesfully jumped over his hurdle and was now catching up. Abigale tried another but Pudge was unphased. Finally, Pudge summoned a hurdle for Abigale which, once again Abigale tripped over, allowing Pudge to get ahead of her.

Meanwhile, Yoshi was getting ahead once more and Riley and him were duking it out. Yoshi was dodging low and jumping high over his hurdles, seeming to use his lack of speed to prepare better. Riley was not having as easy of a time. With a few quick maneuvers, he eventually got hit by a high hurdle and lost his lead to Yoshi. Riley couldn't help but feel annoyed by him.

"Why won't he trip up," he said to himself. "No. One way or another I will see to it that he goes down!"

Meanwhile, Wren had just finished his course and was ready to cheer on his team.

"Go Zap-Dos!" He cheered.

"How does it feel being second best big foot?" Jet asked. But Wren wasn't paying attention to Jet, he was cheering on his team. "I know, humiliating," Jet said to himself.

Riley was trying his hardest to trip Yoshi up as they were coming to the finish line. Riley sent one hurdle at Yoshi, then a high hurdle, then another high hurdle, and finally a normal one. But no matter what, Yoshi passed all of them, refusing to be tripped up. Riley did beat him to the finish line, but he was still frustrated with Yoshi. Eventually he rushed up to the cage once Yoshi had finished and started to go on a tangent.

"What was that?" he ranted. "Are you a psychic or something?"

"Haven't you heard the story of the Torkoal and the Lopunny?" Yoshi said.

"...The Lopunny just goofs off," Riley said. "How does that exactly denote to slow and steady?"

"I took my time," Yoshi said. "As a result, I was able to clear obstacles easier.

It was down to Pudge and Abigale, and Pudge was in the lead.

"Ha ha, I'm winning!" Pudge taunted, sending another hurdle at Abigale.

But this was where Abigale was done losing. This was where she gave it all she had and started to sprint, finally managing to clear a hurdle.

"Not for long!" She called out. "I must win this for my team AND my sister. ...And Yoshi."

Abigale then hit another button for a hurdle right as she was talking. Pudge, being distracted by Abigale's words, was hit by the hurdle and lost a little ground. Eventually, they were running together and nearing the finish line. They were giving each other the works trying to shake them off, but both of them were determined.

"I'm not gonna lose!" Pudge said, very eager to win. But who would be more eager.

As they both neared the finish line, it was a big leap of faith for both Pudge and Abigale. They both hoped they would reach the finish first, and it was a very close call. But in the end, one came out on top. ...Abigale.

Abigale had just narrowly edged out Pudge by an inch, beating him at the race. Pudge stumbled on the ground, not knowing what happened. "Huh? Did I win?" Pudge asked his team.

"Team Artic-Uno has just barely clutched the victory!" Bertram called out.

"Awwww," Pudge frowned, disappointed that he lost.

"You did your best," Wren said after crawling to him. He patted him on the back for reassurance.

"Ha! I told you I was the best!" Jet taunted.

"Hmph, for now anyway," Yoshi said before looking down at Abigale. "You did it, little Furry. I'll bet your sister is proud of you."

"Sister! Ruce! Did you see that?" Abigale asked, running out to the bunkers. "Sister!"

As you'd expect, Ruce was out there with open arms, about ready to give her sister a hug. But at the same time she could not find the words to say.

"I should say I knew you would do it," Ruce started. "But I can say I did have my doubts. But in the end you pulled it off. I'm very proud of you Abigale."

Abigale then took her Pikachu helmet off and smiled, getting closer to Ruce right before Ruce kissed her on the cheek. Yoshi and Jet arrived just in time to see Abigale without her helmet. She didn't look much different from a normal Marill, but she was still very cute.

"What's the big deal, she was the last to finish on our team," Jet said to the group.

Jet and Yoshi watched as Percy walked up to them, He had his paw out, probably wanting a handshake.

"Wow, you were amazing out there Yoshi," he said. "Dodging all those obstacles. I don't think I could have."

"Hey, sometimes being slow isn't such a bad thing," Yoshi stated.

Jet coughed really loud. He hated being outdone. Percy, deep down, didn't want to admit it, but he was impressive too.

"Oh all right Jet," Percy said. "You proved out there that even though you run that big mouth off of yours way to much that, well, maybe you really can back it up. You did today, anyway." Jet just rolled his eyes, but his mouth smiled a bit, showing he was satisfied.

"Team Artic-Uno!" Bertram said through the screen. "Congratulations on your hard-fought victory. Your pizza will be searved to you in no time. However, only two slices per contestant BUT you each get to choose your own toppings!"

"Give me all the Tauros meat I can handle!" Muffy proclaimed.

"Whoa there, there will be time for that later," Bertram said. "Now I must warn you that you are still on your own for drinks, but remember the plantation has crisp clean water and it's not far outside the resistance. You will have access to that in a little bit. And you also won new soundproof walls, WHICH should be fully installed by the time you are done eating. Team Artic-Uno, you have won for today. But tomorrow, the real game starts."

After Bertram logged off, the Artic-Uno started to cheer. They were looking forward to the rest of the season.

"Team Artic-Uno!" Ruce called out.

"Team Artic-Uno!" Abigale said after.

"Team Artic-Uno," Yoshi said happily but less enthused.

"Team Artic-Uno," Lilly joined in. Afterward, everyone shouted their team name in unison to celebrate their victory. Tonight looked very good for them.

**-And so, the season began-**

Over at team Zap-Dos, they had all gathered in the bunker. Fortunately they didn't have people like Dylan or Muffy or Jet on their side, so the pouting was minimal.

"I suppose we did all try our best out there," Aria said.

But there was one person who seemed a bit peeved. And she was taking it out on the wall.

"Ugh, stupid Percy!" Kiki yelled. "Who does he think he is anyway?"

She wasn't angry at the teams loss, but was angry at Percy for holding back. She then walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed a book, right before kicking it across the room after it was thrown in the air.

"That mud was kinda fun to swim in though," Stawolt mentioned. "I wouldn't mind being dunked in that again."

-Confessional Session(Stawolt)-

"I don't like water," Stawolt said. "Water is bad. Water hurts skin. Stawolt always preferred bathing in mud. It feels plesant to touch, and I'm a big rock anyway. What do I need with being soaked in water. Maybe when I get home I should have my dad make a big swimming pool of mud. Aww, that would be nice of him."

-After Confessional-

"That Abigale is tough," Pudge said. "I'll get her next time."

Over with Dustin and Drenig, Drenig was congratulating Dustin for winning his event.

"Ay, good job out there by the way," he said.

"I came, I saw, I conquered!" Dustin proclaimed in his LARPing voice.

"Say, do you know each other?" Wren asked. "You two seem to spend a lot of time together."

"Yeah, we're room mates," Drenig said. "We share an apartment, and we eventually became good friends."

"...Are you two gay?" Riley asked.

"No man! We're just friends," Drenig retorted.

"Gay. Hmmmm... I think I could fit that into the poem," Chauncey said to himself.

"Why does it even matter," Wren asked Riley.

"Oh nothing, I guess it doesn't," Riley stated before walking off.

Dustin and Drenig walked over to the group. Dustin seemed to be interested in Chauncey's poem.

"Young brave knight," he said before shifting his voice. "What'chya writing?"

"Ummm, it's kind of a secret," Chauncey said, pulling the piece of paper he was writing on away from the group.

"Is it for Lilly?" Aria asked.

"Secret," Chauncey chanted, not wanting to reveal the poem. But it was safe to assume Aria was undoubtedly right.

Just then, Bertram appeared on the screen. It looked like he was ready to say something.

"Oh and by the way subjects," Bertram said. "Since you lost today's challenge, you are on your own for food. The walls of our last challenge are gone and the way to the outside world will be open for you. Remember, the tools I mentioned are in the confessional shed. Be sure to make use of them. Good luck."

With that, Bertram logged off to leave the team scratching their heads. None of them wanted to go out, and none of them seemed to know how to build tools.

"I suppose I shall venture to new lands," Dustin said. Eventually, Drenig, Aria, Pudge, and Kiki decided to tag along with him.

While team Zap-Dos went for food, everyone on Team Artic-Uno were enjoying their two slices of heaven. Muffy was enjoying the primitive-Tauros meat she asked for, Abigale and Ruce were dining on classic primitive-Emboar pepperoni, and Lilly had two slices of pizza with no cheese, lots of sauce, and green peppers. Lilly's choice suggested she was possibly a vegan.

"This Pizza is delicious!" Dylan said, enjoying primitive-Remoraids on his two slices. "I got no complaints here."

Jet seemed a bit pouty though."Why couldn't I go out for water?" He asked.

"Because water types are forbidden," Lilly said to the upstart.

Speaking of Water, Percy had came through the door carrying two big buckets of clean water. Behind him, Grant was carrying a bunch of coconuts. Everyone was cheering for Percy right now. ...Except Jet.

"Ugh, yay, go Percy," Jet said sarcastically. "He's the strong one, he's the one with muscles. Blah blah blah."

Grant brought the box of coconuts he was carrying over to the others. He politely set it aside so it didn't disrupt the meal.

"In case you guys want an alternative drink," he started. "I brought some coconuts filled with some delicious milk, and there's enough to go around."

"That's awfully nice of you," Abigale mentioned.

"Just try to leave the shells please," Grant continued. "I'll... want them for my next device."

As Grant and Percy joined the group and started passing coconuts around, Bertram appeared on the screen.

"Congratulations Team Artic-Uno," Bertram said. "I brought Mignon here. Tell him what you think of the pizza."

Many comments were simple "Delicious" or "Yummy" type statements. One quote however stood out above the rest.

"We do not eat this kind of food at home," Yoshi said before taking a bite of his pizza, which also had primitive-Remoraid on it. "But when I get home, perhaps I should tell them to invest in a treat like this. Very impressive, Mr. Mignon."

"Fak-u," Mignon attempted to say "thank you" through his tongue.

"Glad you had some nice things to say," Bertram said. "Now, I'm sure Percy and Grant noticed, but the walls should now be complete."

"You just put foam padding on the walls," Percy stated.

"Well they'll do the job won't they?" Bertram asked in a cross tone. "Besides, I'd like to see YOU make soundproof walls work without."

"...Good point," Percy admitted.

"Now I just wanted to check on you to make sure you get a good nights sleep," Bertram said. "You'll need it for tomorrow. Don't assume Team Zap-Dos won't want revenge after today. Until tomorrow, good night."

Nightfall came on the bunkers, and Pokemon started to go up to them and bang on the walls. The padded walls of Artic-Uno's bunker made little to no noise, but Zap-Dos's bunker generated noises that were loud and disturbing, causing the others a restless night. They still had a campfire going on their campfire stove to keep the group warm, but that was about it.

"Welcome to Quarantine," Riley mumbled, barely even trying to sleep through the "zombies."

"Let's make sure this doesn't happen tomorrow," Aria said to the group.

"I won't, don't worry," Kiki said, angry at the noise.

"The enemy castle is just across the battlefield," Dustin said. "Tomorrow, we shall raise our swords in splendor and charge forward to victory! May no obstacle stand in our way!"

The contestants got out of their beds and walked over to Dustin. ...All but Riley of course.

"Team Zap-Dos!" Dustin cried.

"Team Zap-Dos!" Drenig rallied.

"Team Zap-Dos!" Pudge cheered.

"Team Zap-Dos!" Stawolt exclaimed.

Everyone chanted the name of their team much like Team Artic-Uno did when they won today's event. Their cheer showed they would not stand down so easily, and tomorrow... Things just might go a little bit differently.

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Everybody, this is the Quarantine Chamber."_

_The contestants are locked out of their bunkers!_

_"I don't wanna sleep on the ground."_

_And the key to unlocking their bunker lies high in the tallest tree of a big plantation._

_"I don't think I need to say this, but GO GET IT!"_

_Contestants must find a map and tools to help them scale their tree and unlock their resistance before the other team does._

_"It's awn, man!"_

_Plus conflict between the two teams adds to the pressure. And to the team that finishes last, one member will be going home._

_"It's time we rid the deadweights."_

_All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Building A Stairway To Haven._


	2. Chapter 2: Building a Stairway to Haven

Episode 2: Building a Stairway to Haven

**-Calm Before the Storm-**

It was day two at Quarantine. Morning had rose on the establishment, causing the contestants to go out and catch breakfast. Drenig, in particular was trying to hunt down a primitive-Tauros with a hunting spear. His friend Dustin was helping him along.

"Oh brave Drenig," Dustin said. "Go fourth to seize the monster, and claim its spoils."

"Right," Drenig said, feeling a bit nervous right now.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Sure I enjoy burgers man," Drenig started. "But I've never actually killed my own. I know it's part of life but... when you really get to a point where you have to kill your own food, that's when it's hardest to stare at your plate and want to eat your burger."

-After Confessional-

"What did that one show say about parabola, again?" Drenig asked himself before throwing his spear out. Much to his surprise, he nailed the Tauros.

"Weak point struck for critical damage," Dustin said. "Good showing, brave hero."

"He he, thanks?" Drenig said before aiming for a primitive-Combuseken. He shot his spear up and out and landed another hit on the poor creature.\

Wren and Stawolt were nearby and they saw Drenig's impressive aim. They couldn't help but feel proud for him.

"Hey, you're pretty good," Wren said. "Where did you get that throwing arm?"

"Ay man, it's nothing really," Drenig said humbly. "At the mechanics shop, we get a TV to watch while we work, but mostly just educational shows about science and history. They had a show one day about parabola that mentions the science behind airborne objects and how everything flies in an arc. It suggested to aim higher than your target. It's been working for me so far. Me and Dustin play lawn darts all the time and pretty soon I got really good at exploiting parabola."

"Duh, what does parabola mean?" Stawolt asked.

"Didn't I just explain it?" Drenig asked.

"No," Stawolt started. "You just said parabola then went off and talked about science about airborne objects and arcs."

"That's parabola," Drenig said.

"Uhhhh," Stawolt started to stutter. "You lost me. I'm not good with big words."

"Alright man, from the top," Drenig said.

As Drenig was re-explaining parabola to Stawolt, Wren trailed off to find the others. Eventually he found Riley right where he expected, by himself. He was sitting in a tree with a huge branch, not doing much of anything but looking out. Wren waited for him to notice his presence before speaking up.

"What do you want?" Riley asked.

"You seem lonely up there," Wren said. "Anything you want me to do?"

"Yes, leave," Riley said.

"You seem to take the lone wolf motif very seriously, Riley," Wren stated.

Riley took a deep breath before talking. "Do I need to start a countdown?" Riley asked, highly annoyed by Wren's presence.

"There will be time for being alone if they ever merge our teams," Wren said. "But people won't value your presence if you only fend for yourself."

"Three..." Riley counted.

"You're part of a team now and you need to realize it," Wren suggested. "I mean that's what will likely decide who stays and goes this early in the show is who's a valuable member of the team."

"Two..." Riley counted again.

"Look, I know it's hard to think about working in a team," Wren said. "I... I used to be a loner too."

Riley took a pause to think about what Wren was saying. "Go on," he implored.

"As a kid I always hated working in a team. It especially got hard when a lot of the kids in gym-class were bullies. In the end I ended up not partaking in the things I would otherwise have liked doing." Wren started to look a bit sad as he was talking.

"...One," Riley counted once more.

"Wait, hear me out!" Wren pleaded.

"I don't dislike working in a team because I'm too soft to put up with the big scary badguys," Riley started. "Every time I go into a team, my team mates are always holding me back! Weak and useless. What's the point of working on a team if the members are useless? And even when they're not, there's always something about them that makes them unlikeable. And you for example are a pansy goody two-shoes who WON'T SHUT UP!"

"But maybe you can see we can be strong AND likeable at the same time," Wren suggested. "After all, you don't look like you're even trying to get to know us. Maybe if you knew us more, you could see that we CAN be likeable, and we CAN be strong."

"You're wasting your breath," Riley said, getting angrier by the minute.

"You know, part of it is what you make of it," Wren said. "You choose to see people as unlikable, and in turn it ends up making you unlikable. You ever find the clue, we'll all be there to accept your help. But for now, you need time to think."

Wren was not finished with trying to help Riley, but for now Riley was pushing his buttons and he needed time away.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

*Sigh* "I've never told anyone about being bullied in school to anyone but Riley," Wren said. "But then again, that's cause I kiiiinda made that whole bit up. Hey, we all lie. No one's perfect. I was just trying to help Riley. I hope it's not too late for him, cause I still want to help him work as a team."

-After Confessional-

Drenig wasn't the only one with a successful hunt. Kiki was out there going to town on the local wildlife, managing to nab a nice juicy primitive Emboar. Kiki seemed to be enjoying herself as she nabbed a second one. Aria and Pudge were nearby watching her.

"Ay, don't you think you should leave some of the wildlife for tomorrow?" Aria asked Kiki. ...But Kiki did not respond.

"Wow, he's strong," Pudge said. "He's a Judo expert? I bet he wins a lot of Judo tourneys. And look at his aim! I bet he could even..." Aria had enough of him referring to Kiki as a "him" and cut him off.

"What, you assume Kiki is male because?" Aria asked. "Because she's strong? Because she's athletic? Because she could beat males in her same rank? Is that why you refer to her as a he?"

"Maam, I think you need to look closer," Pudge said. "No female could throw that well."

"Excuse me?" Kiki blurted out upon coming to the group. "I get it that your young and you're not used to seeing females preform as such, but one day you will have gotten your butt kicked by so many girls you will learn to respect the opposite gender!" Kiki would not tolerate Pudge's sexist comments.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I'm so glad kids usually grow out of that phase," Kiki said. "But Pudge needs to grow out of it soon. I will bet if any of the other competitors caught him pulling that stunt, he would likely regret he did so."

-After Confessional-

Over by the other team, Percy and Jet were in charge of spearing animals for food. Percy in particular was having a bit of trouble. He threw a spear at a primitive-Tauros, but missed it by a wide margin.

"Yay Percy! Go Percy!" Jet said sarcastically, deciding to be a smart-alack about things. "You're so strong, everyone loves you!"

"Your taunting doesn't help," Percy said before throwing another spear and missing again. "Today's not been my day. Maybe if I tried to give it all I got I could,"

'Why don't you give it all to me?" Jet yelled, nabbing a spear away from Percy. "Let me show you how it's done!" Jet then threw his spear at the Tauros, and he nabbed it right where it hurt. "See? THAT'S how you catch your breakfast."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"I hate to admit it," Percy started. "But Jet does have some considerable skill. He will be a truly strong component to our team. But yeesh, that ego of his! Not something I'd particularly like to have nagging in my ear all the time."

-After Confessional-

Jet swiftly fell another primitive Pokemon, and felt the need to gloat about it. What was his bag?

"Well look here," Jet started. "The mighty Percy. Shamed in front of all his admirers.

"You are so jealous, it's not even funny!" Dylan said, approaching Percy and Jet. Percy was carrying a bucket of water that would be useful for drinking. "Maybe no one cheers for YOU is because YOU aren't likeable!"

"Ha! You're the one who's jealous!" Jet taunted.

"Alright, you win," Percy said, deciding to humor Jet. "All hail Jet in his majesty."

"Ha! You know it!" Jet said proudly.

"Jet, I think he's being sarcastic," Percy pointed out.

"Aww, don't be a spoil sport," Jet stated sarcastically, acting like a smart-alack again.

In Quarantine, there was a fence across the entire area that separated the two camps. Lilly and Yoshi were standing on the fence, watching Muffy throwing spears at a primitive-gogoat. After a few misses, she eventually hit her target. But then she ran up to it and started to punch at its head. She seemed to be angry as usual.

"Is that really necessary?" Lilly asked.

"Must! Be! Strong!" Muffy cried.

"Why do you want to be above other people so much?" Yoshi asked.

"You wouldn't understand!" Muffy yelled.

"I think I do," Yoshi said. "You hate thinking that you're week, so you try to make yourself feel strong by bullying people."

"That's not it at..." Miff started, trying to stay strong, but eventually cracking under pressure. "...All. I don't want to be week."

"I think I can help you," Yoshi said. "Would you like to talk about things?"

"I don't even know," Muffy whimpered.

"You might feel better," Yoshi suggested. Muffy started to conflict with her thoughts.

"I... No!" Muffy cried. "I am not weak! I don't need to talk, I can figure things out myself!" Muffy then ran off, unable to take the pressure of being exposed.

"Wait, maybe you can't," Yoshi said, running after Muffy. "I insist we talk things over."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"I don't want everyone to think I'm weak!" Muffy yelled to the camera. "I don't want Yoshi or anyone else to tell everyone "Oh look at the poor Granbul, she's troubled. We should all laugh at poor meek and miserable Muffy." Never again! I need to prove myself that I am not little miss Muffy-cake anymore!"

-Confessional Session(Yoshi)-

"She seems upset," Yoshi assumed. "Something happened in her life that causes her to bully. She seems so delicate, like she is trying to forget. I wish I could do more to help her. *Sigh* In my country it is dishonorable to bother someone when they do not wish to be bothered, but in this case maybe it's best to intervene."

-After Confessional-

But of course, Lilly still wasn't alone. Creeping up behind her from the other side of the fence was her admirer Chauncey.

"Doth we squander our existence on opposite sides of the resistance," Chauncey said. "A lone flower a bloom an arid waste, a torrent of water brought forth with haste. I am the rain which..."

"Dude, I don't hate you," Lilly started. "But I'm not interested." Lilly walked away from Chauncey, denying him once more.

"Come back lone flower!" Chauncey cried in vain. Lilly really didn't have any interest in him.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Is there more to him than just a satellite that revolves around me?" Lilly asked. "He's not even asking who I am or where I came from, no. He's just diving right in with "I am your one true love" and whatnot. He has no idea how love works"

-After Confessional-

Back at the Artic-Uno camp, Ruce was playing with Abigale and Grant was doing... something. He had a stack of coconuts in the shape of a humanoid and a small rectangle made of coconut shells.

"Behold!" Grant exclaimed. "The device is complete!"

Ruce and Abigale both looked at the coconuts and then went back to playing with Eevee dolls.

"That's nice," they both said in unison.

"Now to turn it on!" Grant said as he pushed down on his rectangle. ...Nothing happened.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" Ruce asked.

"Don't you fools see?" Grant asked. "This is a prototype of what will become my ultimate destructo robot!"

"Of doom?" Ruce asked rhetorically.

"DOOOOOM! There will be plenty of it!" Grant proclaimed.

"You can't make a robot without wires," Abigale pointed out. Grant watched as the head on his "coconut robot" fell off the stack, revealing hollow insides. Grant giggled a bit at the pile.

"Of course not," Grant said. "Hence why I said "Prototype."

The other contestants were getting back to their bunkers with all their spoils. A supply of meat that would last all day, plus fresh drinking water. And as everyone got near, they noticed steps leading up to their starting point. Why were they there? Suddenly, Bertram's face appeared on the screens again.

"Everyone must proceed to climb the steps outside your bunkers," He said. "I have a game-changing surprise waiting for you up there."

"Awww, can't we eat first?" Pudge asked the monitor. Bertram rolled his eyes.

"Oh alright, you have thirty minutes to eat," Bertram said. "But after that, get up the steps."

After Bertram logged off, everyone went about to make their breakfast. The Pokemon were not used to eating like cavemen, but they got by fine enough. Eventually everyone had finished breakfast, and the big reveal was about to show itself.

**-The Exile Chamber-**

"So what's so important you had to drag us here?" Dylan asked Bertram after he reached the top. Up there both teams got to see each other face to face with no fence, but something seemed different about the starting gate. It was gone! Replaces with a bunch of big tubes and a strong looking door. There was green gas flowing through these tubes as well as a wall connecting all the tubes.

"Gee, with that kind of intro, I don't feel like telling you," Bertram said.

"Yeah, Dylan, be a bit more positive," Percy said happily.

"Whatever," Dylan said, rolling his eyes at Percy.

"Everyone, this is the Quarantine Chamber," Bertram stated.

"Let me guess," Lilly started. "Having to be sent in there is bad."

"Yes, very much so," Bertram said. "As it turns out we have a lot of tubs of powdered milk come in from another facility. Sadly the zombies managed to get at one of the jugs and now it's contaminated with the zombie virus. We know which tub of milk it was, but it's indistinguishable from the other tubs."

"And the challenge is to figure out which one is the contaminated one?" Drenig asked.

"No," Bertram said. "Unfortunately the person in charge of preparing the milk is a bit hard of hearing. I told him "Do NOT use the tub I set aside," but nope. He always insists on making at least one glass of milk with the contaminated stuff. It's gotten the point where I don't know what to do anymore, since he always mixes the glasses up. So at this point, I'm thinking "what could POSSIBLY go wrong" and it's going to be fed to one of you."

"Wait, WHY!?" Ruce asked loudly.

"Why else," Aria asked. "You're feeding it to eliminated contestants."

"Precisely," Bertram said.

"And contestants choose who gets to drink the contaminated milk," Aria continued.

"Correct again," Bertam said.

"And all that happens to a team that loses," Aria said lastly.

"Are you psychic or something?" Bertram asked.

"I'm psychic type," Aria responded. "But you don't need to be to figure it out. It's very simple, really."

"...Am I the only one who thinks her voice is pleasantly soothing?" Yoshi asked his team quietly, refering to Aria.

"And in conclusion of the whole ordeal," Bertram continued. "The person who drinks the contaminated milk will be sent in there: The Quarantine Chamber. You get put in there, that means the game is over for you."

"Ha! Scary chamber Bertram," Jet said. "Glad I'm never going there."

"That's the spirit," Bertram humored. "Confidence, Jet! ...And then it'll blow up in your face."

"I'd like to see him blow up period," Riley said. Riley already had to put up with his attitude in the hurdle race, so he didn't think much of him at all.

"And remember, once you have entered," Bertram started. "You can never EVER come back to Quarantine. EVER!"

Everyone gasped at the comment before an evil laugh sounded to everyone's dismay. But once everyone was done acting shocked, they looked over to find that it was Grant doing the laughing, of course.

"What?" Grant asked. "It fit the mood."

"Now then, everyone back to their bunkers please," Bertram said as he watched the groups leave back to their bunkers. Everyone had time to think about what they should have known was coming. But when Bertram looked closer, he noticed only eight contestants going back to the Zap-Dos camp, and ten going over to Artic-Uno. Bertram shook his head to make sure his eyes were working.

Sure enough, a certain "satellite" was revolving around Lilly again. Chauncey was supposed to be going back to Zap-Dos, but instead followed Lilly down the steps.

"You didn't get to hear all of my poem," Chauncey said. "Why don't I read the rest. Oh, how did it go?" Chauncey fiddled around with the paper he rolled into a scroll and tried to read it. ...Right up to when Lilly cut him off.

"Listen," She started. "Nothing personal, but you can't just rush into love. You think you can just tell someone you love them and they're fine with it. No, the harsh reality is that when you try that, people including your intrest of love think less of you. You aren't even trying to get to know me first, which shows you're new to this whole love thing. And until you realize that, it's not gonna work. ...Let that sink in."

Chauncey started to feel very sad after being rejected. He really was new to love, and rejection came with the package.

"GET BACK TO YOUR OWN TEAM YOU STUPID STICK-FIGURE!" Bertram roared as he caught Chauncey red-handed trying to join the other team. Chauncey climbed back up the stairs and went to rejoin his team.

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"What if I am taking the wrong approach to things?" Chauncey asked himself. "Maybe I should try to get to know her more. ...Or maybe it's just not meant to be. Maybe I should put her aside for now and focus on helping my team out."

-After Confessional-

Over on team Zap-Dos, the group was nearing their bunker. Drenig was the first to reach the door, and Dustin felt like making a lighthearted comment.

"Open sesame," he said. "That's what one of the people I L.A.R.P. with likes to say when opening a door."

"Aym tryin' man," Drenig said. "The doors not opening."

"Wait, what?" Aria asked before walking over to the door. "That can't be right."

Sure enough, Aria tried to open the door. She had no better luck than Drenig did.

"Oh please, let me," Kiki offered. She first did a little Tai-chi in front of the door. Then she unleashed a barage of punches and kicks at the door, hoping to bust it open. ...But it was no use. Kiki was only mortal, and that door wouldn't budge.

"What's going on, Bertram?" Kiki called out.

...But over on the other side, the teams weren't having any luck, either. Yoshi was trying to open the door, but to no avail.

"This is very mysterious," Yoshi commented.

"Come on, COME ON!" Muffy yelled, trying to open the door herself.

"Maybe Percy should try it," Yoshi said.

"Ugh, Percy Percy Percy!" Jet cried. "Who kicked his butt at hunting this morning!?"

"No one cares!" Dylan yelled.

Eventually, Percy examined the lock. It didn't look like he was even going to attempt to open it.

"Oops, sorry," Bertram popped in on the screen behind the two teams. "I forgot to tell you the locksmith came to work on your doors, and he forgot to unlock them."

"Wait, is the situation at hand genuine?" Chauncey asked Bertram.

"They can't do this to us," Stawolt said hopefully.

"I don't wanna sleep on the ground," Pudge whined.

"Ugh, this is all part of the challenge, isn't it?" Aria asked.

"Stop being a smart-alack!" Bertram said. "Now, the Locksmith keeps his quarters in an abandoned warehouse atop a cliff-side. The locksmith is very protective so he has his ladder curled up at the top. Only by hitting a release stake will you be able to access this rope ladder to his warehouse. It's safe to assume he left the key there. The first to retrieve the key and open their bunker wins. And the losing team will be sending someone home!"

"Looks like we're gonna be taking a bit of pressure," Ruce stated. "I can only assume the other team will work even harder after yesterday. So we have to work harder too."

"Oh ya don't say!" Dylan back-talked.

"Every word you say makes me want to cave your skull in," Muffy said angrily.

"Your attitude really could use some work," Percy stated.

"No one asked you, fatty!" Dylan lashed out. Percy released his tail from his waste again, to show he was just very muscular and not top-heavy.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Percy asked. "I am NOT fat! When I grasp my waste with my tail, it just makes me puff up! Are we clear."

"Uhhh, the challenge has started by the way," Bertram said to team Artic-Uno.

"There will be plenty of time for that latter!" Ruce said. "We have to get going!" And so, BOTH teams were heading out near the warehouse. ...The only problem was neither team knew where there warehouse was.

**-Where House?-**

After a good ten minutes of wandering around, team Zap-Dos was starting to feel tired.

"Ugh, that greedy beaver didn't even tell us where the warehouse was," Kiki said.

"My paws hurt," Pudge said.

"Maybe there's a sign somewhere," Stawolt suggested.

"Do you see any?" Riley asked.

"Maybe he's right, though," Wren said. "Look on the ground, there might be some tracks."

"But it's all dead grass," Drenig stated. "How will we tell?"

"Drenig, look behind you," Wren said. Drenig looked back and noticed large patches of bent grass, most likely from Drenig's feet.

"Grass leaves footprints just as well as dirt does," Wren stated.

"Ah, but what if the locksmith flew here and there," Chauncey suggested. Wren paused for a moment.

"Good point," he said. "Awww man, that would complicate things if it did."

"Thy divine skills in perception may come of use?" Dustin asked.

"Wait, what did you say?" Stawolt asked. Dustin shifted to his normal voice to answer.

"You're forgetting that I'm a Watchog," he said. "We have REALLY good sight. I bet I could pinpoint the location if I looked hard enough. Drenig, give me a boost."

"Awright man," Drenig said before hoisting Dustin up on his shoulders. Dustin then looked around to see if he could find it.

"Hmmm, still hard to tell," he said. "Stawolt, can you lift Drenig and I?"

"Duh, maybe. I dunno," Stawolt said. "I don't know if I've lifted anything that heavy."

"Just relax," Drenig said as he grabbed Stawolt's back and climbed up. "You're as tough as a rock anyway, so our weight shouldn't deter you that much."

As Drenig got on top of Stawolt, Dustin got a better view of his surroundings. Immediately, Dustin had a breakthrough.

"The vacant castle resides over there!" Dustin called out, pointing diagonally to where the group was already headed.

"Are you sure about that?" Aria asked. "I don't know for sure how credible your word is.

"Doth you doubt me?" Dustin said as he and Drenig were getting off Stawolt. Dustin shifted his voice again as he got off of Drenig. "Bertram said Warehouse atop a cliff. I saw just that over there. And if you doubt my word, do you have a better lead?"

"No, I suppose not," Aria said. "Alright, lead the way knight in shining armor."

"Right, it's about a mile this way," Dustin said, leading the others to what he saw.

But the other team found a better way of spotting the warehouse.

"Okay, NO ONE bothered to ask Bertram where the warehouse was?" Lilly asked.

"I don't think he'd have provided an answer," Ruce said.

"Why don't we split up?" Percy asked.

"Why don't you leave thinking to the experts," Jet taunted.

"Why don't you get stuck in a tree!" Muffy yelled.

"Tree... That's a good idea Muffy," Lilly said.

"Huh? I didn't have an idea," Muffy said.

"The tree," Abigale said, pointing to a tall dead tree. "If someone can climb it, they might be able to see the warehouse!"

"Ha! Stand aside ugly!" Jet said to Percy. "I've got this in the bag."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"What does Jet have against me anyway?" Percy asked. "I think he's just jealous cause I get most of the attention. People see a big mass of muscle like me and they expect to have hit the jackpot as far as team mates go."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Jealous? Me?" Jet asked. "Yeah right. I got so much skill he couldn't touch. I just hate the fact he's getting all the attention and I'm not. I'm way more athletic than him!"

-After Confessional-

Jet had climbed the top of the tree almost effortlessly. Up there, he immediately saw the warehouse and climbed down to tell his team mates.

"Ha! It's over there," Jet said, pointing in a similar direction Dustin pointed to on his team.

"What are we waiting for?" Grant started. "To the warehouse!"

Team Artic-Uno was well on their way to the warehouse. When they got there, they saw a bunch of monitors, including a small one, a narrow one with what seemed to be instructions, and a big one showing an area much like the one they were in, with a lot of sticks, rocks, and the warehouse on the cliff. Eventually, Bertram appeared on the small screen.

"Congratulations Team Artic-Uno," Bertram started."You managed to make it to the Warehouse first." After a bit of applause from the team, Bertram resumed instructions.

"Now," he started. "I believe the key to your bunker is somewhere inside the locksmith's warehouse. But remember, you need to hit a release switch at the top of the cliff to let down a rope ladder. Use the sticks and rocks to hit the switch."

"Allow me," Jet said, immediately taking a stick that looked aerodynamic enough. "Now, here's how I took PERCY to school!"

Jet cranked his arm back and threw the stick way up high. ...But he did not hit the switch.

"Wah wah," Lilly taunted.

"Are you sure you know how to throw?" Yoshi asked.

"Please, I'm a professional," Jet said. "That was just unlucky."

"How much do you make to throw stuff?" Dylan asked.

"Oh please, being a professional is all about the skill," Jet said. "You don't need to make money to be a pro."

"Uh, yeah you do," Dylan stated. "That's what professional means: you make money doing it."

"Whatever," Jet said, throwing another stick at the target. Once again, he missed.

"Oh for goodness sake," Dylan said, upset with his lack of aim. Dylan then started to take some rocks and throw them at the target himself, but was having just as poor of luck.

But Team Zap-Dos had just caught up as Team Artic-Uno desperately tried to hit their target. They were at their spot and saw the big screen that showed Jet and Dylan throwing at the target.

"No! They got here first!" Pudge cried out.

"No, ya think?" Bertram said, appearing on their small screen. "Key. Warehouse. Switch. Throw sticks and rocks at target to let rope down, climb rope, go in warehouse, then find key. Simple."

"Hey, Drenig. You have a good arm," Wren said. "Why don't you throw for us?"

"Hey, I'm good too!" Kiki said, feeling a bit competitive.

"Well... I suppose I could try," Drenig said as he picked up a stick. He carefully cranked his arm and threw the stick at the target, but missed.

"Come on buddy, you can do it," Dustin supported.

Drenig let out a breath and picked up another stick He cranked his arm again and aimed a little hire, firing the stick at the target. Much to the team's surprise, Drenig hit the target. Afterwards, it released the ladder for the Pokemon to climb.

"Huh, not bad," Riley said to Drenig.

"Ha! Thanks man," Drenig said as he watched Dustin climb up first. Eventually, the others were climbing up one at a time to keep the weight balanced.

Over at Artic-Uno, tensions started to flare. Jet thinks he might have made a new rival.

"What!" he yelled. "That fat croc out-threw me? ME!" Jet continued to throw at the target, but kept missing. Eventually Muffy ran up to him and shoved him over. She picked a stick up and threw it straight into the target, also managing to outdo Jet.

"Ha! Throwing professional my tooth!" Muffy shouted before running up to the ladder and climbing up. When it came to climbing a ladder, Team Artic-Uno had an advantage. ...Because they didn't have Stawolt.

Eventually, everyone from team Zap-Dos had climbed up the ladder except Drenig and Stawolt. Drenig went first, and struggled to climb it with his poor strength to weight balance. But eventually he managed. But Stawolt was kinda scared.

"I... I think I'm too heavy," Stawolt said.

"Everyone must climb the ladder before going into the warehouse or they forfeit," Bertram said to him.

"But it doesn't look strong enough," Stawolt whined.

"Don't worry, it's stronger than it looks," Bertram said, trying to comfort Stawolt.

"Well... Okay." Eventually, Stawolt struggled to climb up.

"Come on big guy, they're catching up!" Aria stated. Sure enough, Team Artic-Uno was getting ahead.

"I'm trying!" Stawolt said, still struggling to get up the ladder. Eventually, Team Artic-Uno had all there members up.

"We're losing!" Pudge cried.

"Let's help Stawolt up," Chauncey said, grabbing the ladder. "Come on, this is a team effort!"

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Like I said," Chauncey reiterated. "I should put Lilly aside for now and focus on helping my team. They could kick me off any minute if I focused too much on her."

-After Confessional-

Everyone except Riley immediately grabbed onto the ladder and Kiki, but were still having trouble. They were pulling him up, but slowly.

"Come on Riley, help us," Wren said.

"Ugh, I suppose I might as well," he said. Riley grabbed what he could and pulled with everyone else. Eventually, they managed to pull Stawolt up above the cliff. Now Team Zap-Dos was back in the game.

"Team Zap-Dos!" Dustin cried, raising his arm in victory. ...But got no response.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Aria said. "Come on." Aria entered the warehouse before the others did, but the others followed in suit.

On Team Artic-Uno, the two teams were all looking through the warehouse. It wasn't very big, but finding the key might prove difficult.

"I think there should be an office somewhere," Ruce said while looking around.

"Hey, what about up there?" Abigale asked, pointing to a room and a flight of stairs leading to a catwalk.

"Good call sis," Ruce said before running off.

While everyone else was climbing the stairs, Grant went around to search for a missing component in his coconut robot of doom: Wires. It didn't take him long to find a whole box of them.

"Hey, no rule against it," Grant said to himself. "Then the Grant helps himself." He then stashed some of the wires in his coat and went to join the group.

As the group bust through the door to the office, the first thing that struck their attention was a note.

"What's this doing here?" Lilly asked before picking it up and reading it. "Today has not been my day. I was coming back from the bunker, and I forgot to give the owners their key. But when I dug in my pockets, the key was gone. I noticed a couple of Pachirisu run off with something shiny, and I'm almost certain it was the key. I've identified the Pachirisu as coming from the plantation nearby. I am sorry for inconveniencing you, but you will have to search there."

"Oh good lord," Dylan moaned.

"I don't think I need to say this," Bertram started, popping up in a TV in the locksmith's office. "But GO GET IT!"

"Bertram really likes testing us, doesn't he?" Abigale asked.

"How hard could it be to find a key in a plantation?" Jet asked.

"Why don't we head out and see?" Percy asked. "Let's get going."

Everyone started to run out of the room. This left Jet by himself to make another snarky comment.

"Oh, why don't we head out and see?" Jet mimicked to himself.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Well, this has been fun," Lilly said. "Bertram locked us out, then he sent us to a warehouse where the key would surely be, and now we have to chase a bunch of squirrels. I can see this is only a sample of what will come later in the season."

-After confessional-

Team Zap-Dos had received the same message as they ran out of their warehouse. Now they had to run to a plantation as well.

"Don't worry, he said the plantation was nearby," Chauncey stated, being the one who read his letter. Dustin had no problem spotting it.

"Fortress spotted," Dustin called out. "Time is of the essence! We must make haste!"

With that, the groups all ran toward the plantation they were supposed to go to. But they had to keep one thing in mind: they were likely still behind.

**-The Key In The Tree-**

"Come on, come on, we gotta catch up!" Pudge said, worried about their stance right now.

"You know, that doesn't help," Aria blurted as they were getting closer to the plantation.

Sure enough, the other team had made it there first. And inside the plantation were some lush scenery, including a big tree. At the top of the tree, you could just see something shiny hanging from a small branch. Like the warehouse, there was a bunch of screens, one depicting the other Plantation, one with Bertram's ugly mug, and a third with some more instructions.

"Well? Looks like your home is tied to that tree right now," he said. "But how do we get up there? Well it wouldn't be very practical to climb up the tree with all those leaves and branches in the way, would it?"

"I could always cut them down with my blades," Yoshi said.

"That's called using your abilities genius," Bertram said. "Remember, that's against the rules."

"Alright, what about an ax?" Yoshi asked.

"Sure," Bertram said. "I'm sure there's an ax laying around, but would that be practical? Like I said, do whatever."

As Bertram logged out, team Artic-Uno started to brainstorm.

"What if we got a ladder and climbed up," Abigale suggested.

"I doubt I've seen any ladders tall enough," Lilly stated.

"You know, if I still had my device I could just blast it down," Grant said.

"Would you give that stupid hunk of plastic a rest?" Lilly asked.

"What if we found this ax and chopped the tree down?" Percy asked.

"That would take forever," Muffy moaned.

"Please, let me just climb up," Jet said to the group.

"Ugh, do you ever use your head before your ego?" Dylan asked.

"No offense Dylan," Ruce started. "But that might not be as bad of an idea as you think."

"Oh sorry for pointing out the branches are probably too brittle," Dylan stated.

"We won't know unless we try," Jet said confidently. "Besides, I'm super light."

"Do you EVER SHUT UP!?" Dylan roared.

"Knock it off!" Ruce yelled. "Now's not the time for arguing, they've made it!" Ruce then pointed to the screen that showed Team Zap-Dos on the other end.

Over there, Bertram was giving instructions to Team Zap-Dos. Pretty much the same start on how to get the key.

"Hey! Let's burn the tree!" Pudge suggested. "The key will survive and the tree will be out of the way."

"First off," Aria started. "There's a huge sign out there that says "No destroying the plantlife." Second, burning that tree down will take way too long. The other team will have a better plan by then. Third, even if we do burn the tree down, the key will STILL be caught in all the commotion. We'd have to get buckets of water to put it out before going for the key. And finally, we also run the risk of destroying the whole facility in the process! Any questions?"

-Confessional Session(Pudge)-

"I'm not supposed to know all of that," Pudge said. "We haven't taken biology at school yet, I'm only in sixth grade. *Sigh* But Aria's voice is still beautiful. If there's anyone I wouldn't mind having as my biology teacher it's her."

-After Confessional-

"Thou must think of something," Dustin stated.

"Why don't I just..." Chauncey started. Bertram interrupted before he could finish.

"No using abilities INCLUDING any blades attached to your arms," he said. "I already told that to Yoshi."

"Maybe there's a slingshot somewhere," Wren said.

While they were coming up with ideas, Riley decided to walk off. Maybe he had a plan.

"Why would there be a slingshot in a plantation?" Kiki asked.

"I dunno, an emergency?" Wren said.

"I could just shake it," Stawolt asked.

"What will that do?" Drenig asked.

"Well, maybe I could shake the key off," Stawolt said.

"That huge thing?" Aria pointed to the size of the tree. "Good luck."

"I think I'll just let you guys talk things over," Bertram said before logging off. But on the big screen, Jet went up to it and decided to send the other team a message.

"Ha! You're wasting your time," Jet said. "Hey tubby! Yeah, you with pompadour! I'm talking to you!"

Drenig saw the screen and went over to it. Why was Jet talking to him.

"You think you can beat me at throwing?" Jet asked. "I'll teach you to mess with Jet. I'm gonna beat YOU and your entire team at this event."

"Get with the challenge!" Muffy cried.

"Don't worry, they're not smart enough to think to be doing the challenge while I'm talking," Jet stated before returning to the screen. "I'd like to see someone on your team do this!"

Jet rushed off toward the tree and started to scale it. He seemed very confident in his abilities. But over on Team Zap-Dos, they could hear a fit of frustration.

"Argh, come on!" Riley yelled.

The team looked over and saw him on a catwalk away from the tree. He was throwing objects at the key, but wasn't able to reach the key. But it did give Drenig a good idea.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Wow, Jet must take losing very seriously," Drenig said. "He seems to be fixated on the previous challenge where I beat him at throwing sticks. But if that's the way he's gonna play it, then I guess we get going. It's awn, man!"

-After Confessional-

"Come on, I have an idea," Drenig said as he rushed over to the Catwalk where Riley was. It was there where he initiated the plan. "From here I think I have enough height to hit the key from. If I can get a good shot at it, I might be able to knock the key down. Wren, you stay at the bottom and catch the key."

"Okay," Wren said simply.

"I hope you do well," Riley said as he stepped aside. "My opinion of you rides on this."

"Wait, what?" Drenig said. Dustin and Kiki came up to give him support.

"Thy trinket lies exactly there," Dustin said, pointing to the key.

Drenig found a small piece of pipe on the ground and chucked it the best he could.

"That frog's getting closer!" Pudge yelled as he watched the screen.

"I'm trying," Drenig said as he threw another piece of pipe at the key, but missed once again. "Give me a break, I'm only mortal," he said.

"Let me," Kiki requested. Kiki then picked up a pipe and threw it as hard as he could. She managed to hit the key, but it still stayed on the tree. However, the key was slipping off, which showed progress.

"He's almost there!" Pudge cried.

"Yes little one, we know," Aria said.

Drenig picked up one last piece of pipe and threw it one more time, nailing the key. The key fell out of the tree and onto the ground near Wren.

"I got the key," Wren called out as he bolted out of the building. Pudge, Aria, Stawolt and Chauncey were not far behind.

"Hmph, you are pretty good," Lilly said.

"Ay, you're pretty good too," Drenig complimented.

"You have my respect for now," Lilly said.

"I suppose you both have mine," Riley added.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Okay. Maybe this team isn't so useless," he said. "Maybe there is some value in my team. ...Maybe I shouldn't take them for granted so much."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"You may question why I complimented the Krookodile," she asked. "I don't like being outdone, but being equaled does have it's charm. A worthy opponent is the drive to work harder. And I've got quite a few obstacles to overcome."

-After Confessional-

Team Artic-Uno was feeling the burn as Team Zap-Dos achieved the key.

"Ugh, nice climbing skills slow-toad!" Dylan whined. "They got the key first!"

"Relax," Jet said as he climbed down the tree. "I got it now. All I have to do is beat them to the bunkers."

"Okay," Percy said, running alongside Jet as he was running out. "Good luck Jet."

"Thank you," Jet said confidently.

Over with Team Zap-Dos, Wren was sprinting his heart out. His team members nearby. Eventually they got to the warehouse and the cliff.

"Okay, we just climb down here and and back down the big hill to the bunker," Wren said.

"How hard can that be?" Chauncey asked. "We got this in the bag."

While the others were climbing down, Stawolt decided to jump down, being sturdy enough to survive a fall that high, which actually wasn't terribly high, but would still be high enough to kill some. But when Stawolt reached the bottom, he looked at the Warehouse's big screen that displayed the other team and noticed they were right behind, and Jet decided to jump too.

"Maybe not," Stawolt said. "Wren, give me the keys."

"No way, he's the slowest member on our team!" Pudge cried.

"It sounds like a bad idea," Aria said.

"If I can get to the hill before he reaches the bunkers, I might be able to beat him," Stawolt said.

No one else had finished their decent down the ladder. Wren was starting to consider his options.

"Do us proud, Stawolt," Wren said.

"Are you nuts!" Aria asked as Wren threw the keys to Stawolt.

"I'm on it," Stawolt said as he grabbed the keys and ran with all his might. "I won't let you down!"

Stawolt pumped his legs as hard as he could, hoping to at least keep up with Jet, but he couldn't tell until he got all the way to the fence line. He noticed Jet had a considerable lead. But coming up was the big hill.

"Ready," Stawolt said as he got near the hill. "Set," he said again getting to the edge. "RUMBLE!"

Stawolt jumped off the peak of the hill and spun to his side to roll like a ball. He had to do it that way cause if he curled inside, that would be using his abilities, so he did the next best thing that was inside the rules. He wouldn't get as much speed, but he would be able to stop himself easier. He hoped he would be fast enough down the hill.

Jet watched from his side as the giant boulder rumbled down the hill to the bunkers, gaining lot's of ground. This caused Jet to run even harder. But he couldn't run hard enough. Stawolt beat him all the way to the door. Stawolt managed to stop himself right near the door and quickly shove the key in the door's key-hole, and with one tug, the door opened, and Jet had just reached his door by the team.

"TEAM ZAP-DOS WINS!" Bertram proclaimed on the screens near the bunkers and the ones near the warehouse.

"What? He did it?" Aria said in disbelieve. "He did it!" Aria was not only surprised, but she was also happy her team won. ...But that comes naturally.

"Our brave champion has CONQUERED!" Dustin declared. "Three cheers for brave Sir Stawolt!" Everyone on team Zap-Dos raised their arms in cheer to congratulate Stawolt for beating Jet.

Over at the bunkers, Bertram was showing the footage of Team Zap-Dos cheering for their fellow team member. Stawolt felt so touched at his team. They doubted him, but now they were cheering for him. Stawolt couldn't help but cry at his team.

"Wahaha, thanks guys," he said as he fell on his back and started making snow angels on the ground. ...The ground that wasn't even covered in snow.

But team Artic-Uno was not feeling as happy right about now.

"I knew that stupid frog couldn't get it done," Dylan said. "Ugh, what a useless creature."

"Oh you're one to talk about useless!" Muffy yelled. "What did you do this entire challenge!?"

"What did ANY of us do?" Dylan asked. "We put too much reliance on him. He climbed the tree, he shot the ladder down, he ran all the way home and COULDN'T EVEN BEAT A ROCK!"

"I shot the ladder down, you idiot!" Muffy shouted.

-Confessional Session(Dylan)-

"You do see my point though," he started. "We basically let him do the entire challenge. And look where that got us? No where! This is a TEAM event, and we did not portray that!"

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Dylan does have one point," Ruce started. "We did rely heavily on Jet for this challenge. But when it comes down to it, there is SOME truth in Jet's ego. You don't have to like him, but he is still a strong player. Sad to say, he's not getting my vote for elimination."

-After Confessional-

Team Zap-Dos regrouped at their bunker where Stawolt lied. They were still applauding him for getting it done. Bertram was on their screen to applaud them.

"I suppose I forgot to mention," he started. "The winning team not only gets to keep their members, but Mignon is serving up fresh Grade-A Primitive-Tauros burgers for you tonight as the winner. In addition, Wyler's beds is providing YOU with upgraded bed equipment, for a better night's sleep."

"Good, cause those beds are not doing it for my back," Drenig stated.

"Aww, but won't the zombies wake us up anyway?" Aria asked.

"Fortunately no," Bertram said. "I have had these bunkers locked away from the zombies, so they cannot get you tonight. Which means a good nights sleep for all of you." After a good sized cheer, Bertram said one last thing before logging off.

"Don't let this victory go to your head," he started. "Though you have won today, Artic Uno will not forget this loss. Tomorrow will be a whole new challenge, so rest up and enjoy your burgers. Until then, I have nothing left to say to you." And with that, Bertram logged off.

**-Thinning The Herd-**

It wasn't long before fresh burgers arrived at Team Zap-Dos. Drenig took no time digging in.

"Man, meat tastes so much better when you didn't kill it yourself," Drenig said.

"That's a bit hypocritical, don't you think?" Aria asked. "You have no problems eating a burger, but when it comes to killing your own food, you get all emotional about it."

"Well... no one's perfect," Drenig stated. "Yeah, I know it's hypocritical but... How many of us don't feel the same way. I mean raise your hand if you agree."

Drenig watched as Wren raised his hand, then Stawolt, then Pudge, and finally Chauncey. Kiki, Riley, Aria and Dustin kept them down.

"I guess I've never thought of it," Dustin started. "My dad would always take me hunting after a big L.A.R. act I do with some of my other friends, and over time I just accepted it."

"Honestly, I could care less," Riley said.

"Sometimes it's survival of the fittest," Kiki said."We're more fit than our primitive versions."

"... Ay guess I just don't know," Drenig said before taking a bite of his burger.

"Me neither," Wren said. "Drenig does have a point. Maybe it's that compasion that makes us what we are."

"Compassion?" Pudge asked. "Isn't that a type of berry?"

"No," Wren started. "Compassion is how we feel about other living beings. They say our primitive ancestors do actually harbor a sense of such, but we as Pokemon are only becoming more and more compassionate as we come of age."

"While it's true it is a bit hypocritical," Chauncey pointed out. "It is not unusual to feal that way, as many people do."

"Well... I suppose," Aria said.

Eventually, a knock on the door interrupted dinner. Pudge immediately ran up to the door, eager for the arrival of new beds.

"Oh boy, the mattress person is here," Pudge said enthusiastically.

The door opened up and there was a Vigoroth on the other side. There were a couple of Vigoroth in the background carrying some beds. And Pudge...

"Aaaah, scary monster!" Pudge just happened to be afraid of Vigoroths. The Vigoroth frowned as Pudge ran away, but resumed business on hand quickly afterward.

"Wyler's Beds, here to swap your mattresses out." There wasn't anything really relevant that happened during Wyler's visits. He and his crew replaced the beds, and that was pretty much it.

But over at Team Artic-Uno, they were gathering around the Quarantine Chamber.

"Well, I guess it's time," Jet said confidently as he and his team sat down in front of the chamber where Bertram was. "Time we rid the deadweights. Ha ha ha!" Jet seemed super confident that he was still in the game. But was his spot REALLY secure? The other contestants hated him.

-Confessional Session(Dylan)-

"I know EXACTLY who I'm voting for."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"He is SO gone!"

-Confessional Session(Yoshi)-

"Well I don't mean to be rude but if we keep him on our team, who knows what will happen."

-Confessional Session(Abigale)-

"I really don't like him. He does not come off as pleasant at all."

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"He's next in line. Right now I've got my eyes on someone else."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Hmmm, no real point in having that annoying yapping football around."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"I like that Jet dude. He makes almost as potent of a villain as I do. Well, as I can portray anyway."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

Percy was lifting his paws up and down. He would raise one paw and stare at it, then raise the other paw and stare at that. "It's not an easy choice, it really isn't."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Ha! They know they need me," Jet said confidently. "Team Artic-Uno's nothing without yours truly."

-After Confessional-

Bertram started handing out glasses of milk to the competitors. When Abigale received hers, she zipped her fursuit open so she could drink it. Once he passed all the cups around, he went up to the table where he originally had the glasses of milk and started the ceremony.

"You will all be required to drink your milk," Bertram said. "Refusal to do so results in a disqualification, and you will be sent home."

Everyone took a swig of their glasses of milk, and immediately spit it out. None of them liked the taste. Only Jet kept his milk inside, probably because he was confident he wasn't going home.

"Hey, what did you expect? Chocolate Miltank milk?" Bertram asked. "You still have to drink it."

Everyone tried their hardest to drink the milk. Some even plugged their noses. Eventually, everyone had their drinks finished. Bertram went around to collect the empty glasses and put them back on the tables.

"In a few minutes, one of you will be gone," Bertram said. "I will list the people who did NOT drink the tainted milk."

"Yeah yeah, just say my name already," Jet said.

"Ugh, you are so annoying," Dylan yelled. "Shut up already!"

"Why don't you BOTH shut up!" Muffy shouted.

"As I was saying," Bertram started up again. "These eight Pokemon are safe. First, Ruce. You are safe."

Ruce ended up letting out a short but loud burp. Probably something in the milk.

"Excuse me," Ruce said. "I think the milk is making me a bit gassy."

"Next up," Bertram started once again. "Percy is safe. Third, Yoshi is also safe. Lilly is safe as well. Abigale, you can join the ranks of not going home today."

"Ha! My name's next," Jet blurted.

"Ugh, let's continue," Bertram said. "Muffy, you as well are safe. And the seventh Pokemon who is not going home is... Grant."

"Mwahahaha!" Grant laughed. Grant really was trying to push that evil genius motif.

"Wait, what about me?" Jet asked, feeling less confident. "They can't send me home."

"I can think of plenty of good reasons that we would," Dylan stated.

"Say my name, please!" Jet said, starting to get worried.

"The final person who is safe," Bertram started. "Is..."

"Say my name. Say my name! I can't go home yet!" Jet whined.

Bertram stared at Jet, really angry with his complaining. He was also stalling the group for suspense.

"Say my name! Say it! Please!" Jet cried, completely freaking out right now.

"Ugh, I cannot believe I'm about to say this," Bertram mumbled, gritting his teeth in the process. "But Jet, as much as I wish I didn't have to say this, but yes YOU ARE SAFE already!"

"Ha!" Jet proclaimed, quickly recovering from his worried state. "I knew it! My team couldn't let this talent go!"

"You SHOULD realize however," Bertram started. "That your team finds your attitude completely insufferable, and that the only reason most of them did NOT vote for you to leave today is because you actually helped your team."

"What!?" Dylan cried. "And I did not!?"

"No! You didn't!" Ruce yelled. "All you did in both today AND yesterday's challenge was complain! You did nothing to help your team, and THAT is why you're being sent home, because your attitude is not much better than Jet's!"

"We'd rather have someone who's annoying but useful on our team than someone who's annoying AND useless!" Muffy cried.

"Hence why I called him an annoying yapping football," Lilly said.

"You've made a terrible mistake!" Dylan yelled. "You have no idea what I am capable of! And now you are stuck with him! I hope you all realize the terrible mistake you've made!"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Bertram mocked before grabbing Dylan's fin. "Carry on now."

Bertram dragged Dylan to the Quarantine chamber and shoved him in. Dylan did not fight as much as you'd think he would have.

"Hmph!" Dylan grunted right before the door was slammed shut on him.

"Well Dylan," Bertram started. "It looks like Quarantine did not go in your favor at all. How does it feel that your entire team has turned on you?"

Dylan said nothing. He just averted his gaze and kept his fins crossed.

"Empty. That is how you feel," Bertram said before walking over to a button. "But, that's reality for you."

After he pressed the button, the chamber started to fill with what looked like green gas. Dylan started to get really worried.

"Hey!" He yelled. "Open this door! What's the big idea! Hey!"

Eventually, Dylan ran to the door and started to bang on it as the gas got thicker and thicker. Eventually, something pulled him away from the door, and all you could see was green gas. After about half a minute, the gas cleared and Dylan was gone.

"And so, Quarantine has claimed its first victim," Bertram stated.

"He's alright, isn't he Bert?" Abigale asked.

"But of course," Bertram said before waving his hand down as a means of dispelling any ideas that he could be dead. "He's perfectly fine. ...Or is he?"

Bertram gave off an evil looking glare towards the other competitors. They all jumped back from their seats. ...But then Bertram gave off a hard laugh, like he just told a really funny joke.

"Nah, but seriously he's fine," Bertram clarified. "The gas you saw is just harmless green colored smoke. The thing that pulled him away was just one of my assistants showing him to a door on the other side of the chamber. He's perfectly fine. ...But now it's not going to be fun anymore now that I gave away the illusion. Oh well, I'm sure I can still scare Zap-Dos with that trick assuming they ever come here."

Everyone seemed more relieved after Bertram told them what really happened. But Jet was still frazzled after the ceremony. He almost got sent home.

"Me? The Jet-frog? Almost sent home," Jet said to himself. "No, I cannot let this..." As he was still recovering, Jet was approached by his entire team.

"Do NOT think there will be no punishment for your attitude," Ruce said. "You need to shape up, show some humility, and be respectful to your team. Because WE control YOUR fate, and next time it could be YOU, whether you're athletic or not! Got it? Shape up, or you are GONE!"

Jet just froze as he watched part of his group walk away back down the stairs. Jet had a lot to think about. Only Percy stayed behind.

"I know, change can be tough," Percy said. "I had to make many changes in my life. Diet, exercise, gyms, even attitude. I remember there was a point where I used to get furious at people for small things. But eventually, I overcame those things to make myself better as a sapient Purugly."

"I... I guess I do think too highly of myself at times," Jet said, stretching his arm behind his head.

"You do have a reason to be proud of yourself though," Percy complimented. "You know, I wish I could do some of the things you do. We all have things we are good and bad at, but we just have to accept that when things can't be helped. But your attitude can be helped, and I wish to help it be helped." Percy then held his paw out and smiled at Jet. "Well? Friends?"

Jet was starting to realize one thing. Percy was not the immortal god the others wanted him to be. He had strength, but didn't have Percy's athletics. Jet excelled in areas Percy failed at, but at the same time Percy excelled in areas Jet failed at. Deep down, they weren't that different. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet. ...At least for the present moment.

"Ummmm... friends?" Jet said nervously before shaking Percy's paw. He didn't know what he was doing if he was doing the right thing or not. But if he didn't shape up, his team would kick him off next chance they got.

"Very touching guys," Bertram said to the two. "But I have to begin the epilogue to the episode if you will. Could you please return to your bunkers?"

"Right," Jet said before he started hopping back. "Come on, Percy." Eventually, Jet and Percy left to regroup with their team. This left Bertram at the top.

"Well," Bertram began. "That ends our first Quarantine Chamber ceremony. Will Jet fly straight, or is it not meant to be? Will Artic-Uno get back at Team Zap-Dos for their recent defeat? What other alliances and qualms will be created? Only time will tell. Until next time, we say goodbye to you for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"I am Savil, the Witch-Doctor."_

_The hunt to find the cure to the Quarantine's deadly diseases is on._

_"Assigned with HER? She could bust me wide open."_

_Contestants search designated areas for three ingredients said to make a powerful potion._

_"AHHHH! Primitive-Luxray!"_

_But many challenges await the contestants in these areas._

_"Thy must solve the code. Thy can't proceed unless."_

_But to the team that first completes their potion, they get to keep their team for one more night._

_"And the losing team? Well, let's just say there will be one less skull to explain things to."_

_All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Brew or Die._


	3. Chapter 3: Brew or Die

Episode 3: Brew or Die

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"Duh, what does "parabola mean?"_  
_"Didn't I just explain it?"_

_The competition truly started when teams were introduced to the Quarantine Chamber and kicked out of their bunkers._

_"Ugh, this is all part of the challenge, isn't it?"_

_Teams searched high and low for the warehouse with the key, but after Drenig successfully landed a shot at the switch that released a ladder leading up to the ladder which had the key..._

_"I noticed a couple of Pachirisu run off with something shiny, and I'm almost certain it was the key. I've identified the Pachirisu as coming from the plantation nearby."_

_...or so they thought. Competitors managed to retrieve their keys and Artic-Uno got a head start, but it was Stawolt that rolled to victory._

_"Three cheers for brave Sir Stawolt!" _

_Team Artic-Uno found it difficult to send someone home. Jet was getting on everyone's nerves with his rampant narcissism._

_"Well look here, the mighty Percy. Shamed in front of all his admirers."_

_But Dylan's use as a competitor was doubted after he went two entire challenges without actually contributing anything but complaints._

_"Do you EVER SHUT UP!?"_

_But in the end, Jet was considered a more valuable contestant, and Artic-Uno chose sourpuss Dylan as the first to go._

_"Hmph!"_

_But this is only the beginning. Seventeen contestants remain, but only one will win. And now, we start Quarantine._

**-The Next Morning-**

Jet had awoken early that morning, as his mind was racing. To think he'd be on the chopping block so early in the game was hard to fit in his head. But his team wanted him to be nicer and more humble. When he decided he couldn't sleep, he climbed out of his top bunk, which he decided to take over now that its previous owner was gone, and started doing stretches till everyone else woke up. And as luck would have it, one particular pig was already awake.

"Behold!" Grant proclaimed as he stood in front of his coconut bot. Something was different about it, though. Now the coconut bot had wires inside. Still, Jet wondered how to respond to Grant.

"Hey there, uhhh Grant," Jet stuttered. "You might want to keep it down a bit. People are still sleeping."

"Oh, sorry," Grant said, rolling his eyes afterward. "Now, I present to you my second prototype of my ultimate destructo robot. ...Of doom."

"That's quite a model you got there," Jet said happily.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"...What a piece of junk," Jet said. "But my team wants me to be more "humble" or else they threatened to kick me out next chance they get. I can be humble, can't I?"

-After Confessional-

'Ha! Very much so. And much improved over previous model. Observe." Grant whipped out his control panel again and pressed the button that he pressed yesterday. Much like it did before, the robot did absolutely nothing.

"Are you sure you've got it all figured out?" Jet asked. "It looks kinda... doesn't work?"

"Am I still missing something?" Grant asked, grabbing the head of his coconut robot and examining the inside of it. Jet did too.

"You don't have any chips or motherboards," Jet said. "Kind of hard to make a robot without the main operation."

Grant stood up and stared at the wall. "Riiiiiight," was his initial reaction.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Ugh, first the two blue mice outsmarted me, and now Jet," Grant said loudly. "I'm not exactly fulfilling my job. I'm supposed to be an evil GENIUS! But truth be told, I'm really not that smart, not even evil genius smart."

-After Confessional-

Awaking from very pleasant dreams was Team Zap-Dos. The new beds they got had many rave reviews among the contestants as they awoke.

"That was a very refreshing sleep," Chauncey stated.

"Best night of rest I've ever gotten," Drenig complimented.

One contestant in particular even decided to exit her bed in style. Kiki launched herself out of bed and started making kung-fu poses. Really, she was showing off, but it was still kind of fun to watch. Eventually, everyone was awake.

"Thy hunt shall not catch itself," Dustin proclaimed after everyone had awaken.

"Don't we have some food on hand?" Aria asked. "Why do we need to hunt for more."

"Because we don't have a way of storing the meat," Riley pointed out. "So naturally it's gonna go bad quickly."

The contestants stored their meat near the back of the room, but sure enough there were already primitive-paras chewing away at the meat.

"Maybe we should limit our catch to one Pokemon," Wren suggested.

"I could go for some more primitive-Emboar," Aria stated.

"Now that you mention it," Stawolt started."I could really go for some primitive-Emboar bacon."

"Thou who oppose shall speak their mind," Dustin stated. ..No one said anything. "I said if anyone oposes to that as our meat of choice please speak up."

"We know what you said," Kiki stated. "But we're fine with that."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I know Dustin makes L.A.R. a hobby," Kiki started. "But did he have to drag his L.A.R. hobby into Quarantine? I mean it doesn't hurt anyone but it's still kind of weird that he talks like a knights so often."

-Confessional Session(Stawolt)-

"Speaking of Emboar bacon," he started. "There's this killer breakfast restaurant me and my parents used to go to owned by this really big Emboar, and he made the best bacon. Actually, I think that place is still there: Mr. Bigs Breakfast Dive. ...Come to think of it, I do kinda wonder why Mr. Big had no problem cooking his own species. What separates the primitive-Emboar from normal ones?"

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Team Zap-Dos escaped their bunker and started to head towards the hunting fields. Some of them were even singing "A Hunting We Will Go" along the way. ...Loud enough to wake some of Team Artic-Uno's members. Lilly was especially displeased.

"Ugh, do they have to be vocal about it?" Lilly asked, trying to plug her ears with her pillow.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"I cannot tell you how many times I've had people shove meat in my face like it's law that you have to eat meat," Lilly said. "They say vegetarians are guilty of this, but some times meat eaters are even worse. ...And yes I'm a vegetarian. I thought you knew that by now."

-After Confessional-

Team Artic-Uno was just waking up from their sleep. Their night of sleep was nowhere near as pleasant. Percy was the last to get up.

"Oh, morning guys," Percy said to the group.

"Morning Percy," Jet said happily. "Wanna go hunting together? I'll even help you on your throwing technique."

"Huh?" Percy stuttered, surprised at Jet's attitude right now. "Why yes, that would be nice."

"Huh, looks like you're taking last nights warning seriously," Ruce pointed out.

"Well I suppose I do get a bit carried away with my ego," Jet said. "I'll try harder to be more humble."

"I don't know if I trust it," Muffy said.

"Even if it's just an act, it's still an improvement," Ruce stated.

"True," Muffy agreed. "But I still don't trust it."

"Gah, where am I going to find a motherboard and some fixings?" Grant asked out loud, interrupting the others conversation.

"You still going on with your stupid projects?" Muffy asked in a cross manner.

"You finish the robot Grant?" Abigale asked.

"No, it's missing some things," Grant said. "Jet pointed out I still need a motherboard."

"And a brain," Muffy said, still cross.

"You doubt my mighty evil brain?" Grant asked.

"Oh please, you think I'm afraid of you?" Muffy asked. "I'm Muffy the Bad Dog, I'm not afraid of anything!"

"I'd like to test that theory," Percy said.

"Hey, breakfast aint gonna catch itself," Jet said happily while standing by the door.

"Oh, okay," Percy said as he walked over to where Jet was. "See ya guys when we get back." With that, they left to go catch breakfast.

"Jet does seem determined, wouldn't you say?" Yoshi asked. "Last night, we made him realize that he is expendable, and he learned from it. That's the kind of Pokemon who deserves a bit of honor: a Pokemon that learns from their mistakes."

"I still say he's acting," Muffy grunted.

"Whether or not we should still prepare for today's challenge," Yoshi stated.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be out picking berries," Lilly stated before heading to the door. "I'll save some for you guys." ...And then there were five.

"So, any ideas as to what today's challenge is?" Yoshi asked.

"We haven't even gotten an announcement yet," Ruce pointed out.

"Guess we'll have to wait and see then," Yoshi said to himself.

Over on Team Zap-Dos, Drenig and Kiki were hunting for today's catch. The first to nab a primitive-Emboar would be responsible for today's meal. Aria, Wren, Stawolt and Dustin were watching, conversing the whole time. Riley was doing something else by himself, probably laying in the tree again. Chauncey, on the other hand, had wandered off.

Drenig was the first to see a primitive-Emboar. Drenig cocked his arm and threw his spear. ...But he missed. In fact, his throw looked like it had less heart put into it than before.

"Thy brave knight has failed his accuracy," Dustin said before shifting to his normal voice. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know," Drenig said, thinking about last night's discussion.

"You're still not obsessed over killing your own food, are you?" Aria asked.

"I... I don't know," Drenig repeated.

"He's still obsessed," Aria said to the rest of the group.

Over by Kiki, she had decided to duck under a tree and wait for her chance. Eventually, she saw another primitive-Emboar. She threw with everything she had and nailed her target right in the neck.

"Ha! Kiki one, Drenig zero," Kiki said, getting a bit competitive. But after she gloated, a Chesto berry fell on her head. She looked up in the tree and saw a primitive-Zigzagoon. "Awww, hi there little cutie," Kiki said to the Zigzagoon. "Don't be afraid little guy, I won't hurt you."

Aria looked over and smiled at Kiki, noticing the little guy she just found. "Awww, what a darling," Aria said, trudging over to Kiki and the primitive-Zigzagoon. Drenig looked over and couldn't help but feel...concerned.

"Aw man, why do we hunt some animals but adore others," Drenig asked as he walked over to the group.

"I think it's because Zigzagoons are not palatable," Dustin responded. "But come on, they are kinda cute."

"It just feels so wrong though," Drenig said.

"I don't know, I still think you're thinking too much into it," Dustin said. "Besides, you're a Krookodile. You're carnivorous whether you like it or not."

"Ay man, I suppose you have a point," Drenig confessed.

"Say, where's Riley?" Stawolt asked.

"Riley? He's over on that tree over yonder again," Wren pointed out.

"Duh, and Chauncey?" Stawolt continued.

"He's probably off chasing Lilly again," Wren said.

"What about Pudge?" Stawolt asked.

"Ummmm," Wren stuttered. "Oops. I think we forgot to wake him up."

Sure enough, back at the Zap-Dos bunkers, Pudge was just waking up. When he did, he noticed everyone was gone.

"Oh no!" Pudge cried. "I'm missing the hunting trip!" Pudge rushed out the door, hoping to catch up to the other team.

Meanwhile, Chauncey was doing exactly what people expected him to do: Looking for Lilly. On his way, Chauncey stopped by a Pecha berry tree and decided to pick a few Pecha berries for himself and Lilly. When he continued his search, Chauncey saw her by the fence picking berries. But she seemed disdained by the berries she saw.

"Ugh, all these berries are too sour," Lilly said to herself. That's when Chauncey decided to go up to the fence with a berry in hand.

"Would you rather have one of these?" Chauncey asked. "I picked them a while ago, but if you wanted something sweeter, I could give you one.

Lilly was indifferent at first. She thought Chauncey was a creep. But at the same time she admired him for doing something nice.

"Ummm, thank you," she said, taking the berry from him and eating it happily. "This is very nice, thank you."

"I... wanted to apologize for the way I've been treating you before," Chauncey said. "You were right, maybe I should try to be a bit more... what's the word."

"Go slow?" Lilly asked.

"Something like that," Chauncey answered. "And I guess I just wanted to get to know you more."

"Well... you seem to be on the right track," Lilly complimented. "You've become... slightly less creepy anyway."

"Really? That means you like me?" Chauncey blurted out, completely disrupting his momentum.

"Ugh, no," Lilly answered, noticing that Chauncey hasn't really changed as much as we wants to think he has. "But thanks for the berry." Eventually, Lilly walked off, away from Chauncey.

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"What did I do wrong?" Chauncey whined.

-After Confessional-

That's when Pudge ran up to Chauncey, frantic about getting to the group in time for hunting.

"Chauncey! Chauncey! Where are the others?" Pudge asked.

"I don't know," Chauncey said before looking around. Eventually he could see the group carrying a primitive-Emboar high above their heads. "Oh, looks like they're coming back."

"Awww, I missed it!" Pudge whined.

-Confessional Session(Pudge)-

"Me and my dad also shared the tradition of hunting primitives," Pudge said. "But we were more than just a pair, we were a team. My dad and I even compete in marksman tourneys where we shoot all sorts of projectiles at different kinds of targets. I'm really good with a sling stick."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, both teams had their food for breakfast. So far, things seemed more or less uneventful.

**-Savil the Witch Doctor-**

Of course, as you would guess, today wouldn't be so tame. After everyone has had their breakfast, Bertram appeared on screen again to greet them.

"Morning subjects," he greeted.

"Can't you just call us contestants?" Lilly from Team Artic-Uno asked Bertram.

"No, as long as you are here, you are my "subjects," Bertram said. "Don't like it, tough."

"Well we don't, you bucktoothed bully!" Muffy shouted.

"Bully?" Bertram asked. "Those words hurt, you know that. You should watch what you say around me, you cowardly creature."

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" Muffy Roared.

"Whoa Muffy, calm down. Don't let him get to you," Jet said, trying to be supportive. Muffy just sat down and grunted, trying to control her anger.

"Anyway," Bertram continued. "Today's challenge is when we officially start our search for the cure to the zombie apocalypse."

Everyone just stared at the screen. Someone even coughed.

"No one takes me seriously?" Bertram asked. "Might I remind you what happened to Jet a couple of days ago?"

"Right, right. Zombie apocalypse, help find cure, right?" Lilly asked.

"Do any of us look like scientists?" Ruce asked.

"I'm a scientist," Grant said proudly.

"Don't even kid yourself!" Muffy yelled.

"Sis, can I sit away from Muffy please?" Abigale whispered to Ruce. "She's starting to scare me."

"Alright, I'll be the first to ask," Yoshi started. "Why do you need us?"

"I do not need you," Bertram said. "Savil is the one who needs you."

"Wait, who?" Grant asked.

"All in good time," Bertram said. "Her helpers Itsy and Bitsy should help lead you to her."

"Is this a trap?" Abigale asked. Bertram pawed his face.

"Oh bother," Bertram said. "This is a reality show. I hate to break the fourth wall, but it is. Even if it was a trap, it would be part of your assignment. Nothing dangerous is going to happen. Now, if you would open your doors, you should see either Itsy or Bitsy on the other side by now. Truthfully, it makes no difference since they're twins."

"I'll do it!" Jet offered before hopping to the door. He opened the door and saw a tiny Spritzee behind the door.

"Follow me to Madame Savil's cave," the Spritzee said. The team got up and did what they were told, following Itsy or Bitsy to the place they were going.

Over at Team Zap-Dos, they were following their Spritzee to a destined location. To where they did not know.

"Bitsy! Who is Madame Savil?" Pudge asked.

"I'm Itsy," the Spritzee corrected. "And you will find out soon enough."

"I wanna know now!" Pudge cried.

"In a few minutes," Itsy said.

"No! I wanna know NOW!" Pudge pouted.

"Hey, you enjoy spankings?" Aria asked Pudge.

"Whatever this challenge is, I'm ready to show what I've got," Wren said.

"Me too," Stawolt said with a smile. Wren looked up at Stawolt and gave a friendly laugh. It was a sign that showed Wren liked him.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Stawolt seems to be a nice person, and ever since we got out of the truck I've always wanted to spend more time with him as friends," Wren stated. "He's already shown that he's more resourceful than he looks, and he could be a valuable ally to our team."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Dustin could make out a cave in between the fence line.

"Thy belief is thou has spotted our destination," Dustin said.

"Correct," Itsy said. "Savil's abode is in that cave.

"Whoa, caves are cool!" Pudge mentioned.

Both teams got to the cave at about the same time. It wasn't a very big cave, and only had one big room where both teams met. There were shelves lining the walls with bottles and herbs resting on top of them. There was a large leather tarp going around in a circle in the middle of the room, and both teams could see some foul smelling smoke coming out of the curtains.

"*Cough* Bleugh! What's that stench!" Kiki cried.

"It smells like a Garbodor," Abigale mentioned.

"That aint no Garbodor," Yoshi brought up. "It smells like really heavy perfume."

"What Pokemon smells like perfume?" Stawolt asked.

"I know of one," Aria mentioned. "Savil, you are an Aromatisse, aren't you."

"How do you know ANYONE is back there?" Riley asked.

"WoooOOOOOOOOOO!" A sound erupted from behind the curtain. Suddenly, a large fluffy creature pulled the curtain back to reveal herself. She had two abnormally big horns and a huge snozz. Aria, as usual, was correct in her assumption, it was an Aromatisse.

"Greetings survivors," the Aromatisse said. "Yes. I am Savil, the Witch-Doctor. I run my own little apothecary right here that sells potions and ingredients. And I know how to make the potion you seek."

"What potion do we seek?" Stawolt asked.

"Yeah, Bertram was kinda vague with his instructions," Lilly pointed out.

"Huh?" Savil stuttered. "He didn't tell you that you were to come here for a certrain potion to help cure zombification?"

"No," everyone said in unison.

"I'm starting to wonder how competent of a host Bertram is," Chauncey said.

"Well then, in that case..." Savil started. "Bertram called you here because he wanted you to fetch more of this potion that can cure zombification. Unfortunately I am out of potion AND ingredients. That is where you come in. There are three ingredients in particular that I need. I need a few Reviver seeds which can be found in an abandoned hospital, as many doctors carried them around. Second, a Red Herb known for giving Pokemon energy after a powerful attack that can be found in the garden of a tech lab, where these herbs are grown to give its old employees the strength to work all day."

"Tech lab you say?" Grant asked.

"Why do you ask?" Chauncey questioned. "Is there something you like about technology?"

"He's an eeeeevil genius," Muffy said sarcastically.

"The THIRD ingredient I want from you," Savil continued. "Is a special Big Root that is said to aid in vampyric abilities, grown by an old Swoobat who STILL lives in the jungle to this day.

"And what are their names?" Aria asked.

"His name..." Savil started

"THEIR names," Aria corrected. "We're not going to be encountering the same Swoobat."

"HIS name is Varmy," Savil stated. "And he lives in the center of a large jungle that takes up BOTH HALVES of the peninsula you are currently on. His house is located inside the fence-line, just like this cave. Questions, smarty-puss?"

Aria just swallowed her pride and shut up. She spent too much time being a smart-alack that she forgot to know when to open her mouth and when not to.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"You win some, you lose some," Aria stated. "You think you have this game all figured out and then you're thrown a curve ball. This was a minor wrong on my part, but now I should be more careful what I say."

-After Confessional-

After explanations, Savil started shuffling two small decks of cards. She then lied the cards out in groups of three on a small table. "I'm no psychic, but I do like playing with these cards Bertram gave me earlier. They are like fate cards, and today they will decide who will be grouped with who. To forewarn, there will be no take backs. You receive who you receive. I shall start with Team Zap-Dos."

Eventually Savil turned three cards over. One card had Kiki on it, the second card had Riley, and the third card had Chauncey.

"Kiki, Riley, and Chauncey will form team A for Zap-Dos," she said before turning another set of cards. The second set came up as Aria, Drenig, and Pudge.

"Aria, Drenig and Pudge will be team B for Zap-Dos," Savil said before turning over the remaining cards with Wren, Dustin and Stawolt on them. "Through process of elimination, Wren, Dustin and Stawolt will be team C."

Immediately, Drenig and Dustin looked at each other. It was obvious they were disappointed that they wouldn't be on the same team.

"Aww man," Drenig said. "No offense to Aria and Pudge, but I was kinda hoping I'd be on Dustin's team."

"No takebacks," Savil reminded.

"It's okay Drenig," Dustin said. "I'm sure you, Aria and Pudge will make a fine team. Right guys?"

"Right!" Pudge said happily.

"Yes, very much," Aria said, a bit disappointed herself. She had nothing against Drenig in particular. In fact, it was Pudge she did not look forward to working with.

"Right, now over to team Artic-Uno," Savil said before turning over three cards: Jet, Ruce, and Percy. "You three are team A for Artic-Uno."

"Yes!" Jet said happily. "I get to work with two people who are stronger than me."

"Uhhh, creepy much?" Ruce asked.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Hmmm, I admire Jet for trying to improve his attitude," Ruce said "But now he's starting to come off as a suck-up. But I suppose it's better than old Jet."

-After Confessional-

Savil turned over three more cards. The cards were Yoshi, Lilly, and Muffy.

"These three cards have spoken for Yoshi, Lilly and Muffy to be team B," Savil stated.

"No! I can see the cards!" Muffy yelled, stating the obvious.

"And the last team is..." Savil started before she turned over three more cards. One with Grant, another with Abigale, and the third had... Dylan on it?

"Huh? Who's this guy?" Savil asked. "He's not in your group right now. Oh well, I guess Grant and Abigale will have to be their own team."

"What?" Ruce cried out, noticing her sister was stuck with the "evil genius." "You're trusting him with MY sister?"

"That's how random select works," Savil pointed out. "Sad, huh?"

"Don't worry Ruce, I'll be fine," Abigale said.

"Yeah... Fine and dandy," Grant said, nervous about working with Abigale.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Assigned with HER!?" Grant freaked. "She's already onto my true self, she could bust me wide open! I have to really drive that super-villain motif home, or else NO ONE will take me seriously! ...Why do I care? Let's just say I like to entertain. In high-school, I ALWAYS played the badguy because are cool. And I'm on TV, so why not play the role of Grant the Dastardly for his fans? Why do I care whether THEY know who I am if I don't care what the audience thinks? Because the more I can PROVE that I can play the role, the more seriously they will take me. If I tell them my secret..."

"Hey pork-chop, could you hurry it up, you're on a timed recording," Bertram's voice called out. Grant started to talk really quickly.

"If I tell them my secret, then they will humor me with bad acting," Grant said. "And wouldn't you rather see realistic acting? I thought so. Okay, I'm done."

-After Confessional-

"Now that we have our teams picked out," Savil stated. "It's time to choose which locations each team..."

"Tech lab! Tech lab!" Grant blurted out. Ruce decided to ask the others what their opinions on him going there were.

"What do you say, should we humor him?" Ruce asked the A and B team. The others nodded in agreement. "Fine, Grant and Abigale get the tech lab."

"I wanna do the Tech Lab too!" Pudge said.

"Hmmm, personally..." Aria started before her and Drenig blurted out "I would rather venture in a nice airy jungle," in unison. Except Drenig put his usual accent on "I."

"Really?" Aria said to Drenig with a smile.

"No! I wanna go to the tech lab! I wanna beat that furry girl!" Pudge whined.

"And miss out on all the cool jungle animals like Luxrays and Ambipoms?" Drenig asked.

"Luxrays and Ambipoms!?" Pudge shouted in glee. "Ooh, I wanna go to the jungle! Can we, pleeeeeease?"

"Huh, good idea," Aria complimented Drenig.

"Hey, I went through that phase too," Drenig mentioned. "I always liked going to the zoo and seeing our primitive ancestors."

"If you're taking the jungle, we'll take the hospital," Chauncey said.

"Did you ask us?" Kiki asked.

"Oh sorry, would you like to search the hospital?" Chauncey asked.

"Might as well," Riley said.

"Thy leaves us to a place in thy future," Dustin said in his L.A.R. voice.

"To the Tech Lab!" Wren yelled before trying to run out of the cave.

"I'm not done yet," Savil mentioned before Wren got far. "Team Artic-Uno, have you made your choices?"

"We're going to the jungle," Jet spoke for his team.

"And we chose the hospital," Lilly stated.

"So we are all settled," Savil said. "I will be providing each of the six teams with a map. These maps will help you find the correct locations to where you are going." Savil, Itsy and Bitsy handed the maps to all the teams before Savil went back to her cauldron and started stirring it. "May your journeys be successful."

"May they shall," Grant said. "Come on little furry, let's make post-haste to THE TECH LAB where I..."

"Not so fast," Ruce said, walking over to Grant. "I'm warning you Grant, if you do ANYTHING to harm my sister, and if any of the fur on her costume is ripped off, don't think you'll get off easy."

"Fine, fine, I'll take good care of the little one," Grant said.

"Her name's Abigale," Ruce said.

"Tamato, Tamoto," Grant said. "Let's go Abigale TO THE TECH LAB! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

"See ya sis!" Abigale said happily, walking behind Grant.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"My sister doesn't seem to have any problem hanging around with Grant," Ruce stated. "I know Grant's a joke, but whether he's dangerous or not, he's still almost as annoying as Dylan, Old Jet, and Muffy. But Abigale seems to be putting up with him just fine."

-After Confessional-

And so, the six groups head out for their quests to find their ingredients. But they didn't know what dangerous looking obstacles they would have to face.

**-And We're Off-**

We'll keep you up to date with the six teams, but for now the camera decided to follow the group of Kiki, Riley, and Chauncey.

"Finding a reviver seed in an abandoned hospital. How hard can that be?" Chauncey asked.

"It does sound a bit easy," Kiki mentioned. "Still, I better watch out."

Just then, they noticed Riley running off. "Where is he going?" Chauncey asked.

"I think I found the hospital," Riley called out, running past a patch of flowers including a big one with a bright red head and a strange white stem and long leaves flowing down like a dress. It kind of looked like a Lilligant, except more like a normal flower. In fact, it was a primitive-Lilligant.

"Wow, what a pretty flower," Chauncey said, running up to the flower.

"Yeah, it's pretty. Now let's go," Kiki said, wanting to get on with the challenge.

"I've never seen a lilly quite like it," Chauncey said. ...He just triggered his own buttons. "Lilly..."

"What did I tell you about obsessing over the opponent?" Kiki asked. "She's not on Team Zap-Dos. Deal with it already."

"Ugh, your attitude towards my affection to Lilly is entirely uncouth," Chauncey retaliated.

"We have a CHALLENGE to complete," Kiki shouted. "Let's go."

Kiki started to run off towards Riley. Chauncey just dipped his head and followed, letting out a sign after he took his gaze off the Lilligant.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"If all Chauncey can think about is Lilly, does he REALLY belong here?" Kiki asked. "He needs to get his head in the game, or else he could be going home soon."

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Sometimes I see a useful player like Kiki," Riley started. "And then I look at losers like Chauncey. It makes me wonder how useful my team really is."

-After Confessional-

But as the two hospital teams would realize, it would not be that easy. As Team Artic-Uno's expedition got closer, they noticed a hospital... with a collapsed roof.

"Okay, maybe this won't be so easy," Muffy said, looking at the walls. "But what's the worst that could happen."

They then saw a piece of the roof fall off and down into the hospital. THAT was an indication of what could happen.

"Never say "what's the worst that can happen" or "what could possibly go wrong," Lilly said. "That's cursed speak."

"Oh who believes in superstitions like that?" Muffy asked.

"Maybe someone should scout ahead," Yoshi said, starting to walk forward.

"Fine! I'll do that," Muffy said before trying to grab Yoshi to keep him behind. But immediately, Yoshi fought back and slapped Muffy in the face.

"What's the big idea, you brute?" Yoshi asked. Yoshi was offended by Muffy's insistence to to beat Yoshi to the hospital. And, as you'd guess. Muffy started crying again.

"Oww! That hurt," Muffy whined. "Why did you have to hit me?"

"You can't even take a slap?" Yoshi asked. "You will never last long in battle."

"Maybe... Maybe I should go forward," Lilly said to the two before helping herself. Yoshi and Muffy just ignored her.

"Why do you act so big around people, yet you crumble under pressure?" Yoshi asked. "Why do you feel the need to bully people!? What is the point of it, you barbarian!?"

Muffy was still crying a bit, but she seemed to open up. "It's because the kids at school were always mean to me," Muffy said.

"Huh?" Yoshi was starting to wonder if he should hate Muffy or pity her.

"Muffy always got bullied when she was a Snubbul. I didn't want to be pushed around so much, so I tried to be big and strong like the people who picked on me so much. I don't want people to think of me as a weakling and a coward, I want people to think of me as a brave powerful Granbul able of defending herself."

"So you chose to become a bully yourself?" Yoshi asked. "How is that working for you?"

"It's not," Muffy said sadly.

"You know, strength doesn't come from aggression," Yoshi said. "It comes from courage. Have you ever read the Psychic Of Az?"

Muffy nodded her head to confirm she had read the book. She was still kind of crying.

"Then you're familiar with the Cowardly Luxray?" Yoshi asked. "Cause you seem to be just like the Cowardly Luxray. You start out big and strong, but when a tiny growlithe barks at you, you can't take it."

"Are you saying I'm weak!?" Muffy yelled.

"No, I didn't finish," Yoshi said. "But along the way, the Cowardly Luxray tries to better himself by doing things he didn't know he was brave enough to do, like when he helped his friends save Dorry from the Malicious Malamar of the SouthWest and how he helped Dorrie find Gelda through all the dangers on their way to find the Malevolent Malamar of the North-North-West after Az's balloon takes off without Dorry."

"So?" Muffy asked. "What's your point."

"My point is that you too can use your desire to be strong to help instead of harm," Yoshi said. "Then maybe people will still see you as the big tough Granbul you want them to think you are, and have them like you as well."

"You're right," Muffy said, cheering up a bit. "I never wanted people to hate me. I just want people to respect me. ...But I'm still not confident enough."

"You'll gain that confidence," Yoshi said. "I know you will."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Yoshi must help a lot of people out," Muffy said. "He seems like a cool guy anyway, and maybe he has a point. From now on, I don't want to be Muffy the Bully any longer. I want to be Muffy the Brave."

-After Confessional-

Lilly came back to the group and saw a smiling Muffy and Yoshi patting her in the back. But at the current moment, Lilly thought little of it.

"It looks like the coast is clear," Lilly said. "We should be able to go inside and find what we need. ...But there's a lot of rubble..."

"I can push it out of the way," Muffy said happily.

"Huh? Well yeah, that the spirit I guess," Lilly said. "But we might need more than one Pokemon."

"Okay," Muffy said with a nod. Eventually the three were off into the hospital, trying to get their ingredient.

Next, we check up on the team of Grant and Abigale, who have just arrived at the tech lab.

"Right, now to search for the... errr" Grant stuttered, looking at the map again. "Red herb. Hmmm, it should be growing in one of the labs. Why don't we split up."

"Do you think there's anything dangerous here?" Abigale asked.

"Preposterous," Grant said. "Just stay away from anything that looks fun. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will check over here. You check the other way." Grant pointed down a hallway for Abigale to go down.

"Okay," Abigale said as she walked down the hall. That left Grant to do business alone.

"Hmmm, now to find a working motherboard," Grant said before looking through all the machines.

At first he found one that looked safe enough to grab from, but when he did he immediately got zapped. Not painfully, but enough to tell him it was a bad idea. But eventually his eyes wandered to a device that looked like it was completely destroyed, but had an intact motherboard.

"Perfect," he said to himself before grabbing the motherboard. "Now to just... errr, carefully removed the motherboard... oh come on why won't it come off."

The reason the board wouldn't come off was because it was screwed in. Grant scrambled around for a screw driver, and as luck would have it there was one right next to the machine.

"Now to unscrew all eight screws," Grant said to himself as he was unscrewing the first one. Just then, she heard a call.

"Uhhh, I don't think I was supposed to go in here," Abigale called out.

"Quiet, I'm working," Grant called back.

"HELP!" Abigale screamed.

That's when Grant realized: If anything happened to Abigale, Ruce would not let him forget it. Right now, Grant had no choice but to go and help.

"I'm coming little furry," Grant yelled as he ran off down the hall that Abigale went down.

On the other side of the fence, Dustin, Wren and Stawolt made it to their lab. Their lab seemed just as run down, but unlike Grant, they had their eyes on the game.

"I'd look around for a map to the lab," Wren said. "There should be one on the walls."

"Thou be thee?" Dustin asked, standing right next to what looked like said map. It was right next to the entrance. It made sense for the scientists to put them in a convenient location for easy access.

"Right, well done," Wren said before hopping over to the map. "It looks like the herb lab is just across all this machinery on the other side of the lab."

"What are we waiting for?" Stawolt asked. "Let's go." Stawolt slowly walked around the machinery to where he thought was the door. "There we are, in..."

Stawolt opened the door and immediately he was sprayed down with black sludge coming through the door. Wren decided to run over there to help.

"Actually Stawolt, that's the trap-testing room," Wren said. "The herb lab is far down these halls."

"What is this stuff?" Stawolt asked.

"Let me help you," Wren said, trying to clean the sludge off. "It just seems to be play slime. It doesn't look like they were actually going to use the testing for something serious."

Meanwhile Dustin had started going down the halls when a siren started go off.

"Uhhhh..." Was Dustin's response. Wren and Stawolt both ran at Dustin, expecting some kind of trap to go off, but they ended up clonking heads with each other. Stawolt being much heavier than Wren ended up knocking him over. Stawolt, embarrassed for himself, went over to Stawolt to see if he was alright.

"I'm sorry Wren," he said. "I was just trying to save Dustin."

"It's alright Stawolt," Wren said, acting like he was fine. "You were just being a good guy." Eventually Wren got up and dusted himself up.

"Thy belief we should identify the spy who wishes to befall our kingdom," Dustin said in his L.A.R. voice before going to his normal voice. "It turns out that particular trap was broken, but I don't want to take any more chances so... What should we do?"

"Oww, my head hurts," Wren said. "Maybe you did get me good."

"Do you want me to carry you?" Stawolt asked.

"Aww, you're a good guy," Wren said as he fell down on Stawolt. Stawolt decided to pick him up and put him on his shoulder.

"Why don't we just run?" Stawolt asked.

"Worth a try," Dustin said. And with that, they both ran down the halls, hoping to bypass the traps before they triggered.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Stawolt also seems to have a big heart," Wren said. "I guess I have some compotition as the big brother, but that makes me want to learn more about Stawolt. He seems like a pretty cool guy."

-After Confessional-

Taking a break from them, we then take a look at Aria, Drenig, and Pudge's team. Pudge was rather excited to see what he'd find here. Already he was finding some cool primitive birds.

"Whoa, did you see that guys?" Pudge asked. "I've only seen one of those in zoos."

"Quiet," Aria snapped. "I'm trying to figure out where the shack is. Th map doesn't say particularly, but Savil said it would be along the fence line, so we should look there."

"Ay man, but what about the wildlife?" Drenig asked. "We don't even know if there's anything dangerous in the woods. And what about this "Varmy" character? Savil never mentioned whether he was friendly or not."

"That is true. We need to take that into account," Aria responded.

"Awww, you're missing it!" Pudge whined. "The primitive-Slakoth is playing on the tree."

"Awww, isn't that something," Drenig said as he watched and saw the slakoth hanging on the tree.

"Yes that's very cute," Aria said. "But we need... uh oh." Aria stopped.

She then spotted a creature lying down near their area. And it didn't look too friendly. But the one thing that worked in their favor was that it was asleep.

"Okay, we should be very quiet," Aria sad to Drenig and Pudge. "Let's just keep walking. If we stay quiet, maybe it will stay..." Too late.

"AHHHH! Primitive-Luxray!" Pudge shouted, waking the Luxray up immediately.

"Ugh, thanks alot," Aria said to Pudge, cross with his reaction.

"Use your beautiful singing voice to put him to sleep," Pudge said. Aria just stared at Drenig, not finding the words to say to Pudge.

"Is he serious?" Aria asked.

"What if I just threw a rock at him," Drenig asked.

"No, that will just make him angrier," Aria said as she watched the Luxray slowly stalk the group.

"Climb the trees!" Pudge cried. "Luxrays can't climb." Pudge started to climb, but immediately was pulled down by Aria.

"Yes they can," Aria said before she took Pudge and ran. Drenig ran along with her.

"What do you suggest?" Drenig asked.

"Water, there must be a pool of water somewhere," Aria said as she scanned the area. Eventually, she found a pool. "Over there!"

"But I can't swim," Pudge said.

"I'll carry you then," Aria said as she and Drenig rushed into the water. The Luxray decided it had better things to do that to try and chase a bunch of Pokemon into the water.

"Whew, that was close," Drenig said. "Good thinking Aria."

"We should be closer to Varmy's house," Aria said. "In fact, I think it's across here."

But one thing didn't seem right. The water they were in was very sludgy and it seemed to be riddled with disease.

"Are you sure this water is safe to swim in?" Drenig asked.

"Can't be too bad," Aria said. "Bertram doesn't seem like the kind to put us in actual danger like this. Besides, the Luxray has to be drinking something."

"Yeah, because being chased by a primitive-beast is like sitting on the couch and watching television," Drenig countered. But in the end, what could possibly go wrong?

Lastly, we check up on Jet, Ruce, and Percy. Ruce was currently thinking of Grant and Abigale right now. She was thinking of all the horrible things Grant could let happen to her.

"Do you think I really should trust Grant with my sister?" she asked.

"What choice do you have?" Percy asked.

"Bertram could have made an exception," Ruce stated.

"Yeah, but it's done and over with," Jet said. "I'm sure your sister will be OW!"

Jet looked to his right and saw a primitive-Aipom in the tree. It appeared the monkey had just thrown a coconut at Jet's head. Jet of course felt the need to retaliate.

"Hey! Butt-face!" Jet said, picking up the coconut and tossing it in his hands a few times. "How about a taste of the Jet?"

Jet threw the coconut at the Aipom with what he could, and managed to hit the Aipom. The Aipom fell out of the branch and to the ground.

"Ha! That'll learn him," Jet said confidently.

"So much for the new and improved Jet," Percy said. Jet paused his ego and then gave Percy an apathetic look.

"Oops. Sorry, I should keep my ego in check," he said.

Just then, they heard some angry screeches. The monkey Jet just knocked down had gotten some reinforcements, and now the monkeys were chasing after Jet, Ruce and Percy.

"Maybe that's not all you should keep in check," Percy said before running.

After a little bit of running, Jet had an idea. "Wouldn't it just be easier to fight them off?" he asked. "I think we can do it."

"That sounds dangerous," Ruce stated.

"Well, what's your plan?" Jet asked. Deep down, Ruce did want to kick some butt.

"The same as yours," Ruce said before she stood her ground. Jet did just as well. Percy also stayed to fend them off.

As the primitives got closer, Ruce let her arms fly. She pushed off any Aipom that got close to her, even punching a few. Jet retaliated with a series of kicks that helped him survive the barage of monkeys. Percy had no problems grabbing them and flinging them backward like they were nothing. Eventually, the Aipoms gave up and left them alone to continue their quest.

"Ha! We make a good team, don't we?" Jet asked.

"Yeah," Ruce said. "You're much more tolerable when you're not shooting your mouth off. Now let's go, we have a big root to harvest."

And with that, Ruce and the game fled deeper into the woods, hoping they could get a reward from Varmy the Swoobat.

**-Deadliest Shopping List Ever-**

The trip through the hospital was more or less uneventful for the group of Kiki, Riley and Chauncey. They had to climb piles of rubble, but that was pretty much it.

"Okay looks like the supply closet should be riiiiight..." Kiki was talking about the supply closet when she noticed the closet was blocked by a lot of rubble. "Ha ha, very funny Bertram."

"Yeah, didn't take long to figure it's here on purpose," Riley said. "I'm going to see if I can't find some explosives. Not like I have anything better to do." As usual, Riley wandered off, not wanting to be around the others.

"There's a big pillar blocking the doorknob," Chauncey said. "Maybe if we move this pillar, we can reach the closet."

"Yeah, good luck," Kiki said. "Ugh, I am so glad Percy's team picked the jungle."

"Wait, you're still fixated on Percy?" Chauncey asked.

"Duh," Kiki said. "I still can't believe he's pretentious enough to show off."

"You told me not to fixate on Lilly," Chauncey said. "Doth that not make you a hypocrite?"

"No," Kiki responded, tension showing in her voice. "My fixation is based on competitive spirit AGAINST the opposite team. YOURS is based on affection FOR the other team. There's a HUGE difference."

"Well irregardless to that, we should at least TRY to move the pillar," Chauncey said.

"Irregardless?" Kiki asked. "You didn't even pass English class, did you."

"Listen, do you want to get the seeds or not!?" Chauncey yelled.

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Ugh! That Kiki character is REALLY starting to annoy me!" Chauncey yelled. "She even has the audacity to insult my "super-laa-tiv" vocabulary? How many people use the word "super-laa-tiv" in a sentence like that? Who? That's what I thought."

-After Session-

"Why don't we get Riley first?" Kiki asked. "We might be able to push it aside easier."

"Yeah, I doubt we're gonna find any explosives in a hospital," Chauncey said. "But what COULD a hospital have?"

"Good point," Kiki said. "There must be something." Just then, Kiki saw something coming at them. "CHAUNCEY, WATCH OUT!"

"Wah!" Chauncey cried as he leaped out of the way of what was coming.

...Except it was only their team mate Riley. Riley managed to find a sledgehammer and charged at the pillar before swinging it down. He screamed as the hammer hit the pillar and shattered it into several more manageable pieces.

"Where did you find that?" Kiki asked.

"In a utility room," Riley said, acting like Kiki should have known that. "They must keep it around for convenient construction purposes.

"You know, you could have given us a warning before charging in here," Chauncey said.

"Oops, sorry," Riley said before slamming the hammer against the door, breaking it open. "Well? Let's go."

Eventually the team cleared the rubble and went through the door. What would await them back there?

The team of Yoshi, Muffy, and Lilly was about to find out. They too encountered the same problem with rubble in front of the door.

"Now what do we do?" Lilly asked the group.

"Uhhh," Muffy started before stepping forward and puffing out her chest. "I volunteer to remove the rubble."

"Huh? What's up with her?" Lilly asked.

"We had a little talk earlier," Yoshi said before going up to Muffy. "I dunno, I don't think you can do it yourself."

"I can," Muffy said. "Because I am Muffy the Brave!"

"That must have been quite a talk," Yoshi said.

Muffy then started to lift the big pillar in front of the door. She lifted with all her might, trying desperately to move the pillar.

"Come on! Come on! Move! ...Please?" Muffy was starting to frustrate herself with the pillar. No matter how hard she pushed, it wouldn't budge. That's when Yoshi decided to come to her aid.

"Baby steps, cowardly Luxray," Yoshi said trying to help Muffy. Even with Yoshi's help it wasn't moving much.

"Wait, you just called her... What now?" Lilly asked before going over to the pillar to help lift it. With their combined strength, they managed to push the pillar out of the way and get to the door. ...But Muffy seemed a bit sad.

"I wanted to do it myself," Muffy said. "I wanted to show how brave and strong I am."

"It's okay Muffy," Yoshi said. "You should start small though. Try to swallow your fear when it comes to situations that require courage. And maybe if you whined a bit less... no offense... People might really start to look up to you. After all, a happy assertive Granbul is better than a fearful crying one."

"Okay," Muffy said, nodding with a smile. After pushing the rest of the rubble away, they found the supply room. It didn't take long for Lilly to find the seeds.

"There, jars full of them," Lilly said. "We should take a whole jar just in case we botch up a brew."

"Makes sense," Yoshi said. "We should get back to the cave. We're probably the first ones to finish, but we should still make haste."

We next check on Grant, who is running for dear life trying to find Abigale. Eventually, he finds her... in a big room with a large pool of water surrounding the entire room, and a sinister looking primitive-Sharpedo in the tank. There was a steel platform along the wall for walking on, it was obviously used as an observation deck for feeding time.

"AHH! Help me!" Abigale cried.

Grant looked around for a weapon he could use. Of course they kept something on hand for emergencies. Hanging on a wall was a big laser gun that looked like it just might scare the Sharpedo off.

"Ha! The foolish beast obviously underestimates my intelligence," Grant said before taking the cannon. "Face the mighty brain of Grant the Dastardly! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

Grant fired the cannon off at the Sharpedo, making sure not to hit Abigale. Finally, Grant got a successful hit and managed to scare the Sharpedo off Abigale. As Abigale swam closer to the platform, Grant grabbed Abigale's hand and pulled her to safety.

"Thank you Grant," Abigale said before going up to hug him. But Grant shoved her off.

"Silence," Grant said. "I did that for my own selfish needs. Your sister said..."

"I don't think so," Abigale said. "I think you actually cared about me there."

"I did NOT!" Grant said, waving his arms around. And when he did so, he ended up dropping the laser gun and smashing it on the platform. "NOOOOOOOO! The device! My beautiful device!"

"I'm sure the lab has another," Abigale said.

"No!" Grant cried. "That was MY device! I invented it!"

"No you didn't," Abigale said. "I saw you pull it off the wall."

"I made a deal with this lab long ago," Grant said.

"But this is a reality show, it's not real," Abigale said to Grant.

"GAH!" Grant then noticed on the ground an intact motherboard from the smashed gun. "Ugh, maybe I can still make use of this," he said before stuffing the motherboard in his coat.

"I like you, Grant," Abigale said. "I think you're a nice Grumpig deep down."

"La la la la la! Not listening!" Grant said as he started walking down the hall on the opposite end of the tank.

"He he, you're funny," Abigale laughed.

"Talk to the hoof," Grant said. "The face don't want to hear your despicable garbage for a second longer."

"...You really are pushing the evil Scientist motif far aren't you?" Abigale said. "You know you don't have to do that, you can show the real you."

-Confessional Session(Abigale)-

"He really cannot fool anyone," Abigale said. "He wants to seem like an evil genius, but I know he saved me for more than just my sister's warning. If he were really evil, he wouldn't have cared what my sister said to him."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"No! No! No!" Grant cried. "Abigale is ruining everything! She knows I'm a fake, and she'll blab to everyone! I have to eliminate her somehow, I must! I... I... I'm just not evil enough to do so. Maybe it's time to throw in the towel. NO! I must convince Abigale I'm a REAL scientist. ...Oh what's the point. Maybe the ruse has just hit its wall."

-After Confessional-

It was time for Dustin, Stawolt, and Wren to finish their challenge. They had gotten to the secret garden room, but it was locked. And it had a keypad next to it that required a three-digit number.

"Duh, the door won't open," Stawolt said obviously. Wren was still on his shoulder, rubbing his head, which left Dustin and Stawolt to find out what to do. Dustin immediately saw the paper on the door that spoke of a code.

"Thy must solve the code," he said. "Thy can't proceed unless."

"Duh, let's just press numbers," Stawolt said. "One, two, three." ...Nothing happened. "Uhhh, one, one, one?" Nothing happened. "Duhhhh..." Stawolt mashed buttons, but to no avail. It wouldn't open.

"No, we can't just press random numbers," Dustin said. "We have to play it smart. What does it say."

"Duhhh, Dex number for mutated rot and waste escaped from its plastic prison," Stawolt said. "Duhhhhhh... I got nothing."

"Come on Dustin, think," he said, scratching his head. "What's a plastic prison? What Pokemon is mutated rot and waste."

"Ugh numbers..." Wren said. "Five sixty-nine."

"Huh?" Dustin said. "Okay..." He then pressed the numbers five, six and nine into the keypad and viola, the door opened. "Wait, how did you know?"

"It's a Garbodor," Wren said. "Garbodor is a monster made of rot and waste, which probably means garbage. And plastic prison probably refers to a garbage bag. Garbodor's dex number just happens to be five-hundred and sixty-nine."

"But how did you figure that out," Stawolt asked. "I thought I hurt your head."

"It just hurts, I don't have amnesia," Wren said. "It's not like I cannot still think or calculate."

"Who cares, the door's open," Dustin said. "Onward!"

But Grant and Abigale were hot on their trail. Grant kept looking down at Abigale wondering if he should really spill the beans or not.

"Look, I guess I should come clean a bit," Grant said. Grant was still unsure if he wanted to go through with it. "I... I... I think your costume is kinda cool."

"Really?" Abigale asked.

"Yes," Grant said. "The big Mohawk and the spiked collars for example. They feel so... evil..."

"I don't wanna look evil," Abigale said. "I was going for punk-rock Pikachu."

"Oh the heck with it," Grant started, just about ready to cut the cord. "You win Abigale, I... huh?"

Eventually, Grant came upon a similar door to the one Dustin and Stawolt found. This one had a different puzzle.

"Dex number of a beautiful creature with wings of many colorful variations," Abigale said.

"Hmm hmm hmm, yes!" Grant said. "Vivillon! It's dex number is..." Grant walked up to the keypad and typed in three numbers. "Six! Six! Six! The number of EVIIIIIIIL! MWAHAHAHAHA! OPEN SESAME!" Grant grabbed the door handle and twisted it. The door opened without a problem.

"Tee hee, you sure like playing the evil villain," Abigale said.

"He he he, because being bad is SOOOO good," Grant said as he ran into the room and grabbed a hoofful of Red Herbs. "Come my minion, TO THE SECRET CAVERNS!"

As Abigale and Grant were running, Abigale decided to ask Grant a question.

"You want to be friends?" Grant asked.

"Only if you promise never to tell anyone I'm not a real evil genius," Grant said. Grant figured Abigale already knew so he might as well say it.

"Sure thing, friend," Abigale said as they ran out of the lab.

Over with Jet, Percy and Ruce, the had finally made it to Varmy's cottage where they could see several plants with Big Roots in them. They could just see Varmy perched upside down on a pole jutting outside of his house. He was currently sleeping.

"Uh, mister?" Ruce asked. "Mr. Varmy sir?"

"What do you want!" Varmy yelled, awaking from his sleep.

"We heard you are growing big roots here, and we wish to have one for a potion we are making to cure zombification," Percy added. "May we please have one?"

"No!" Varmy yelled. "You young mortals come here all the time taking my Big Roots and I'm running out of Big Roots to give! Leave at once!"

"But we need one!" Ruce said.

"I SAID LEAVE!" Varmy roared.

"Not a very kind old bat are you?" Jet asked.

"You're testing my patience!" Varmy said. He watched Jet walk closer to the roots. "One step closer and you will regret it!"

Jet just stared him down and tilted his head. He didn't really care what he thought. But his team mates did.

"Jet, I wouldn't test him further," Ruce said.

"Look we need the root, don't we?" Jet asked before he looked up at Varmy. "I'm sorry sir, but we need one of these for our potion. Now you're just going to have to..." Jet took one step closer.

"Time for REGRET!" Varmy yelled as he swooped down on the group, causing a chase to occur.

"Couldn't even have given us time to strategize?" Ruce asked.

"Oops, my bad," Jet said, trying to seem sorry.

Aria, Pudge, and Drenig had reached Varmy's hut and noticed the others were being chased by the crazy Swoobat.

"Doesn't look like he wants to give up his Big Roots," Aria said. "We'll just help ourselves then."

"Are you sure that's..." Drenig started.

"Shhh, you'll alert him," Aria said before carefully removing a Big Root from the pot. "Now we can get back."

But as they started to walk away quietly, Pudge opened his mouth.

"Hey mister!" Pudge called out. "Is it true you're a vampire?"

"No!" Aria groaned.

"You little scoundrels!" Varmy said, averting his attention to the Team Zap-Dos members. "That's mine!"

"We're sorry mister," Pudge said before swiping the Big Root from Aria and started walking closer. "We'll give it back, honest."

Aria was worried Pudge would really do it. She had to think of something. But there it was right in eyeshot: Her answer.

"Uhh, now they're stealing a root," Aria said. "We'll put ours in the pot."

It was true, Jet had reached the pots and broke one apart for the root. It was then that their team started to run.

"Why the little!" Varmy cried before turning around. "Give me back my ROOTS!"

Pudge then started back for the cabin, but Aria grabbed him by the scruff of his back and pulled him the opposite way.

"Hold onto it," Aria said. "Let's go."

"But shouldn't we give the root back?" Pudge asked.

"No!" Drenig cried. "Keep running!"

"But..." Pudge started.

"Give me that!" Aria said, swiping the root away from him.

"Hey!" Pudge cried.

"We have to..." Aria started. "We... got to get back and... owwww, why does my tummy feel sick right now."

"Aww man, mine too," Drenig said, holding onto his gut.

"What's wrong with you two?" Pudge asked.

"Are you sure that swamp water was clean?" Drenig asked.

"I don't even know what's what anymore," Aria said, feeling that maybe her sass was starting to bite her in the butt.

"Miss Aria," Pudge said. "Can I..."

"Oh shut up you brat!" Aria yelled, clenching her stomach as if she was in pain.

-Confessional Session(Pudge)-

"I thought Aria was a nice person at first," Pudge said. "But she's been acting really mean! Maybe her voice is the only thing likeable about her."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Ugh..." Aria's face was starting to turn green. "Between that annoying panda and finding out you're wrong again... Ugh, today's not been my day. Anyone have a waste basket?"

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Lesson learned," Drenig said, also looking green in the face. He also had a waste basket in one claw. "If water looks disease ridden, chances are it's disease ridden."

-After Confessional-

Jet, Ruce, and Percy were still trying to run away from Varmy. But Varmy was gaining on them.

"Maybe if we run along the tree line, he'll find it harder to chase us," Jet said, putting the suggestion out there.

"That does sound feasible," Ruce said. "But really Jet, you pushing Varmy's buttons didn't help."

"Well... I'm sorry," Jet said. "I guess I got a bit happy with my ego again."

"Never mind that," Percy said. "Through the trees."

The group decided to run where the trees were heaviest, which helped them keep going while slowing Varmy down.

"Curse you kids!" Varmy yelled. "Always stealing my Big Roots! I aughta have you eaten alive by Zubats!"

Eventually, Varmy's voice kept getting more and more faint. Jet breathed a sigh of relief.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Okay, so my ego still needs some work," he said. "But I'm sure if I work hard enough to improve my ego, I can stay in the game. Cause I got my eyes on the prize."

-After Confessional-

Now everyone had their ingredients, all that was left was getting back to the cave.

**-Homecoming-**

The first to arrive were Abigale and Grant. Grant had made Abigale hum a knock-off tune of a popular science-fiction movie while Grant slowly marched into the cave, making his eeeeeeevil entrance. Abigale stopped humming once Grant reached Savil.

"Mwahahaha! I have secured the Red Herb!" Grant said.

"Excellent," Savil said. "Now before you throw it..."

"Please, I'm a scientist," Grant said. "I know how everything works as far as potions go. ...Okay, maybe I should ask for some tips just to be safe."

"The Red Herb must be finely minced in a small bladed spinner," Savil mentioned.

"Excellent!" Grant said. "And what about the Reviver Seed and the Big Root?"

"The Reviver Seed must be crushed with a mortar and pestle," Savil mentioned. "The Big Root must have its legs and leaves chopped off, then ground with a grater."

"Resplendent," Grant proclaimed. "I will have my minions make the necessary precautions and adjustments before added to the brew."

"One last thing," Savil started. "Seed, Herb and Root. That's the order in which they should be added, thirty seconds at a time."

After being lectured, the team of Yoshi, Lilly, and Miffy showed up.

"Huh? You got here first?" Lilly said to Grant.

"Nevermind!" Grant said. "You of the hospital team should grind the seed in a mortar and pestle on the table over there."

"Wait, are you sure?" Yoshi asked.

"It's okay," Abigale said. "Savil told him everything."

"And this Red Herb will not chop itself," Grant said.

"Why not chop it yourself you..." Muffy yelled before Yoshi patted her on the back.

"Remember, assertiveness," he said before he went to crush the seed.

"Uhhh, you got the herb. Maybe you should grind it yourself maybe?" Muffy asked.

"Oh alright, but I'll wait for the others to get here," Grant said.

"Huh, you really do seem to have changed," Lilly said, happy that Muffy was starting to act more pleasant.

And it didn't take long for other contestants to get there. Eventually Kiki, Chauncey and Riley showed up. Chauncey had the Reviver seed and ran over to Savil for instructions. She told Chauncey what to do.

"Got it," he said. "That doesn't sound hard." Chauncey then ran to the table and started grinding up his seed in the mortar and pestle.

Next Dustin, Stawolt and Wren showed up. Dustin ran up to Savil for instruction on how to prepare the Red Herb.

"As you wish my lady," Dustin said in his L.A.R. voice before he ran to the table and crushed the herb in the manual mixer.

Finally Aria, Drenig and Pudge showed up.

"Ugh, my stomach," Drenig said.

"I would have done things differently myself," Aria said. Eventually, Pudge swiped the root out of Aria's hand and ran to the cauldron with it.

"Whoa, slow down little guy," Savil said as he got near. "First you HAVE TO NO!"

Pudge didn't listen to anything Savil was trying to say. Pudge saw the cauldron, darted for it, and his first instinct was to throw the entire root in hole.

"No, you fool!" Savil said. "The root is supposed to be grinded with a grater! You were supposed to cut the legs and the leaves off first!"

"What!?" Pudge exclaimed when he'd realized what he'd done. "No! I gotta get the root back!"

"Too late!" Savil cried. "The leaves are poisonous! You've tainted the potion!"

"Are you serious?" Aria asked, clenching her tentacle. "Now we have to go back and get another!"

"I don't know if I'd bother," Drenig said, pointing to Jet, Percy and Ruce.

"Excellent!" Grant exclaimed. "All my subjects are now here!"

"I don't even tolerate the subjects crap from Bertram, let alone a pig that likes to play super villain!" Ruce said, immediately rushing up to him. "And I hope you did NOTHING to allow any harm to..."

"Sis, I'm alright," Abigale said. Her fursuit, although a bit wet, was completely intact.

"What happened to your favorite costume!?" Ruce cried in shock.

"Mr. Grant saved me from a big monster," Abigale said.

"Really?" Ruce asked, turning her attitude around.

"Grant made this really cool laser gun," Abigale started. "And then he fired it right at the monster and he saved me."

"Awww, I can't believe I'm saying this," Ruce said. "But I'm proud of what you did."

"Yes," Grant said. "Let her think that I truly cared about her and didn't save her for selfish reasons."

"Tee hee, he's actually kind of a cool guy," Abigale said.

"Now! To your stations minions," Grant said. "We have a potion to complete."

"Just humor him," Abigale whispered to Ruce. Ruce nodded and went over to the table of tools.

"The one with the seed must crush in a mortar and pestle," Grant said.

"I know," Yoshi said, already working on it.

"The one with the root chops the legs and the leaves then grinds the rest with a grater," Grant continued.

"Yes master," Ruce said, trying to sound truthful.

"And now, my part," Grant finished, putting his Red Herb in a manual mixer. Once all the ingredients were completed, Grant walked over to the cauldron with his grounded herb and called commands.

"Minion A, are you ready?" Grant asked Yoshi.

"Seed all grounded," he said before he brought the mortar and pestle to the cauldron.

"Now... ADD THE SEED!" Grant said. Yoshi did just that. Grant then waited for about thirty seconds, counting in his head before adding the Red Herb. "Minion B, are you ready?"

"Yes master," Ruce said, bringing a plate of the ground root to the Cauldron.

"Alright," Grant said, waiting for another thirty before giving the command. "ADD THE ROOT!"

Abigale dumped the root into the cauldron, and Grant stirred it. The brew started to change colors untill eventually an explosion of foam and smoke came from it.

"It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!" Grant yelled.

"Are you sure you did it right?" Ruce asked. It was then that Savil walked over to the cauldron and sniffed the brew.

"The aroma seems right," she said before she took a spoon and sipped the potion. She widened her eyes at Grant then.

"This potion... is PERFECT!" she said.

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" Grant laughed once again.

"Team Artic-Uno is the winner," Savil announced.

Team Zap-Dos was angry. Not at themselves, but at Pudge. He had cost them the challenge. Everyone huddled around him and Pudge started to feel scared. Everyone was bigger than him.

"Wait! No, don't hurt me!" Pudge cried. "I'm sorry!"

Eventually, both teams returned to their bunkers, where Bertram was waiting atop the wall that divided the two teams. The stairs leading up to the Quarantine Chamber were right there as well.

"Well well well," Bertram started. "One team emerged victorious thanks to one very mad scientist."

"The pleasure is mine," Grant said.

"And the other team submerged defeated," Bertram said.

"Can me and Drenig please get some bismuth?" Aria asked.

"What happened?" Dustin asked Drenig.

"Aww man, we had to go into a germy swamp where..." Drenig started until he was cut off.

"Shush," Bertram said. "The winning teams prize... is a masterfully prepared primitive-Clauncher with salads to go with."

"Thanks for thinking of me," Lilly blurted out, referring to the salads.

"In addition," Bertram added. "Barnums Sports and Fun would like to award you with free balls, hitting sticks AND catching gloves for an enjoyable outdoor experience."

"Woo! Sports goods! Now it's a game," Jet said happily. The rest of his team seemed just as happy.

"And the losing team?" Bertram continued. "Well, let's just say there will be one less skull to explain things to. Come along."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"That Chauncey needs to go soon," Kiki said. "But he's not the one who cost us the challenge."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Sorry man," Wren started. "But you just aint ready for a competition like this."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Ugh, do I need to say anything?" Aria said, still kind of sick.

-After Confessional-

Everyone had made it to the ceremony in front of the chamber. Bertram was handing out milk and a little something extra.

"Here you are, here you are," He started before he got to Aria and Drenig. "And here you two go, the bismuth you asked for."

Betty was there with two cups of bismuth which she handed to the two who were sick.

"If you ever feel sick, we always have medicine on hand," Betty said before walking back to the milk.

"Why don't you wash it down with the milk?" Bertram asked Aria and Drenig. "After all you have to drink it or you forfeit." It was then that Bertram walked back to the table where he explained things again.

"Remember, if you are eliminated you cannot return to this game show for the rest of the season," Bertram started. "Now when I call your name out, that means you are safe. First, Aria."

"Ugh, thank you," Aria said, trying to smile through her sickness. She had no worries she would go home, but still felt happy.

"Drenig, you are also safe," Bertram stated. Drenig smiled as well. "Kiki! Dustin! Wren! Stawolt! Riley! You are all safe."

"Whatever," Riley said.

"No!" Pudge cried, now worried about his own fate. "I'm sorry!"

"Pudge! Your reckless thinking cost your team the challenge," Bertram mentioned.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Pudge repeated.

"And Chauncey! You seem to spend more time trying to score with an opposing dame than you do concentrating on helping your team win the game," Bertram said before stopping to think about what he said. "Blech! I just rhymed!" He shouted. "Betty, do you have any soap?"

"No," Betty said simply.

"It's true," Chauncey said. "But I can't help it. Lilly is such a beautiful person and I really do want to get to know her. But I am here to win, and I will still work to help my team! I may have a crush on Lilly, but I am a team player!"

"Well..." Bertram started. "Your team better hope so, because they have given you another chance."

"Phew," Chauncey said.

"Which means Pudge, you have drank the tainted milk," Bertram said.

"NOOOOOOO!" Pudge whined. "I don't wanna leave the game! I only got here a few days ago! Please! I'll do anything, Mr. Bert! Just let me stay in the game!"

"Too bad," Bertram said before grabbing Pudge and hoisting him over his shoulder. "That's tough life for you."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Pudge whined. "I DON'T WANNA GO HOME!"

Bertram placed Pudge in the chamber and quickly shut the door on him. It didn't take long for the green gas to fill the room. But the whole time, you could hear Pudge crying. Really, it was incredibly embarassing to watch. Eventually the smoke cleared and Pudge was finally gone.

"Alright, I am drawing the line right here," Bertram said. "All in favor of putting kids through a maturity test before letting them on the show?"

"Agreed," Everyone said in unison.

"Then it's decided," Bertram said. "So we never have another "Pudge" on this show again. Ugh, I can still hear him crying! ...Or is it just me?"

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Can I really balance Lilly and team play?" Chauncey asked. "I don't know. But if I don't, then I could be the next one sent home. ...But maybe I should give up on trying to win Lilly over. ...At least until the merge, where we both meet. "I'll be waiting for you Lilly."

-After Confessional-

Bertram was still up near the chamber as the team left to return to their bunkers. It was time for him to announce the end of the episode.

"Well, that marks the end of Pudge and this episode," Bertram said. "Will Chauncey set aside what he believes is his one true love to win the game. Will something else happen? If so, what will come up? Next episode looks to be a fun one. And I hope you will keep watching this splendid program. Until next time, we say goodbye to you for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Vower? Who is he?"_

_The contestants confront a big bad dude._

_"He has been known to kill Pokemon..."_

_Only one thing can tame this massive fiend._

_"Let the first ever Quarantine Kitchen Wars begin!"_

_Players must hone their knives and sharpen their skills as they serve to hundreds of zombies in a resturaunt challenge._

_"My hunger cannot be satisfied so easily!"_

_It's Team Artic-Uno and Team Zap-Dos verses the most dangerous food critic around._

_"I hope he won't kill me for this dish."_

_All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Steak Through The Heart._


	4. Chapter 4: Steak Through The Heart

Episode 4: Steak Through The Heart

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"Last night, we made him realize that he is expendable, and he learned from it."_

_Contestants were sent to a dark cave that housed a powerful witch doctor._

_"I run my own little apothecary right here that sells potions and ingredients. And I know how to make the potion you seek."_

_Contestants were sent to a hospital, a tech lab, and a jungle._

_"Let's make post-haste to THE TECH LAB!"_

_Yoshi helped Muffy become more confident, Abigale cracked Grant's code and found his true nature, and Jet... Well he's still Jet, but he's trying._

_"Hey! Butt-face! How about a taste of the Jet?"_

_Meanwhile, heads were hurt, words were criticized, costumes became wet, and tummies became sick._

_"Lesson learned. If water looks disease ridden, chances are it's disease ridden."_

_But in the end, the mad villain Grant orchestrated a potion fit for zombie royalty. And Pudge's reckless thinking cost his team the challenge._

_"No, you fool! You were supposed to cut the legs and the leaves off first!"_

_At the elimination, it was between Pudge and Chauncey. Chauncey's love for Lilly was getting in the way of his thinking._

_"I can't help it. Lilly is such a beautiful person and I really do want to get to know her."_

_Team Zap-Dos gave Chauncey one more chance, and sent the young-gun Pudge home, kicking and screaming the whole time._

_"All in favor of putting kids through a maturity test before letting them on the show?"_

_With one more Pokemon out of the running, it's now time for a challenge that combines skill and creativity. And now, we start Quarantine._

**-Cower before Vower-**

"I don't know how he does it."

At Team Artic-Uno, they were spending the night eating primitive-Clauncher.

"Mignon must be an amazing chef," Percy said.

"Forget the Clauncher," Jet said. Jet was standing away from the table was kicking a soccer ball about until kicking it in the air before doing a back flip, then catching the ball. "It's like he knew I loved sports."

"Not everyone shares your fascination for sports," Lilly said.

"I don't know, I could go for a game of hockey," Percy stated.

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Percy," Jet said. "Let's play hockey. Team Jet VS Team Percy."

"No thanks," Lilly said.

"Aww, come on Lilly," Percy said. "Do you play sports often? You can be on my team."

"Well... Alright," Lilly said, agreeing to Hockey.

"Fine, but me and Abigale are on the same team," Ruce blurted.

"Aww, come on sis," Abigale started. "Some friendly competition might be fun."

"Well, I guess," Ruce responded, thinking maybe being on opposite teams would be a new experience. "Alright, you're on."

"I'm gonna beat you sis!" Abigale said.

-Confessional Session(Abigale)-

"Me and big sis always played together," Abigale said. "We rarely play on opposite teams. You could say we're pretty close sisters. But in this case I think it might be fun trying to beat her at something. Hey, why not? No one said sisters always have to team up."

-After Confessional-

In a matter of minutes, the outdoors was set. There was a big wall where the stairs used to be and a fence blocking off the way to the rest of the peninsula. There were trash cans set on both ends, Percy was goalie for his team and Muffy was goalie for team Jet. Percy had Lilly, Abigale and Grant on their team, while Jet and Muffy had Yoshi and Ruce. ...There seemed to be a strange pattern.

"Of course Jet picks the stronger players," Lilly said.

"Don't worry, nothing's getting past me," Percy said.

"Behold the power of the device!" Grant said, holding a hockey stick above his head. Something then struck Grant. He forgot to put his motherboard away. "Speaking of which, can I take a quick break first?"

"Go ahead," Percy said before watching Grant run in the bunker and putting his board away before coming back outside to join his group.

"Here comes the doom!" Grant proclaimed.

"If you're gonna make a catch phrase," Lilly started. "I would avoid the word "doom." Too cliche."

"Enough talk, start!" Jet said as he walked up to the center of the hallway where he met against Grant. There was a small ball between the two. "You must be shaking in your boots right now, little pig."

"Ha! You're more terrified of me!" Grant cried. But right before squaring off, Grant saw something. "What the heck!?"

"What the heck what?" Jet asked as he looked to where Grant was pointing and saw... nothing. Grant was playing a trick on him.

"Made you look," Grant said before stealing the hockey ball away from Jet and then running through his team. Abigale was on the other side when Ruce and Yoshi tried to attack Grant for the ball. Grant shot the ball through Yoshi's legs and passed it to Abigale. Abigale smacked the ball and sent it straight at Muffy and the goal. Muffy blocked the ball, but unfortunately not with her stick.

"OW! My knee!" Muffy cried, keeling over. Not only was Muffy not a fan of getting bullied, she didn't care for pain either.

"Muffy, remember our talk?" Yoshi asked.

"You're right," Muffy said. "I am strong." Muffy started to fight through the pain, trying to show she wouldn't be deterred by it.

"Whatever, my team gets the ball," Jet said.

Ruce was next to get the ball. She managed to plow through team Percy's rather puny defense before taking a shot at the goal. Unfortunately, Percy effortlessly blocked the shot. Throughout the game, many tried to get through Percy, but he was just too big and his defense was too high to get past.

"I'm calling shenanigans!" Jet shouted, interrupting the game. "You as the goalie is not fair! You're too big!"

"I'll admit my size is rather intimidating," Percy said. "But do you think it's fair that you get all the other strong athletes?"

"Wait, huh?" Jet looked at his team and started to scratch his head. "Well... yes?"

"I'll tell you what, why don't we make a trade, then I'll leave the goal post?" Percy requested.

"Uhhh,,, fine," Percy said. "I'll take Grant, and you can have that whiny brat in the back."

"What did you call me!?" Muffy yelled.

"Awww come on, that's not a fair trade," Percy said. "You're getting rid of one of your strongest players."

"Sorry. Sorry," Jet told Muffy before turning back to Percy. "Fine, you can have Yoshi then."

"Deal," Percy said before walking away from his goal. "Yoshi, can you play goalie?"

"I'll see what I can do I guess," Yoshi decided. "I've never played hockey before, but how hard can it be?"

With Yoshi as the goal tender, the game became a lot more fair. The teams spent all night playing, but ended up in a tie game. The night for them was rather pleasant.

Team Zap-Dos also got a nice sleep. After they eliminated Pudge, things were much more quiet. Both Aria and Drenig made a full recovery from their sickness, and decided to walk outside to stretch.

"Ahhh, looks to be a nice day today," Aria said, looking at the sky.

"I guess it's time to go hunting," Drenig said. "What do you want today Aria."

"Well, I suppose I could go for primitive-Golduck today," Aria decided.

"Something different, ey?" Drenig said. "Alright I'll... Huh?"

Drenig looked at the wall dividing their bunkers and saw a big poster.

"What the heck!" Drenig cried out. Everyone came outside to look at the poster. It depicted a large shadowy Snorlax above the words "D. Vower is your Judgement." You could just make out the Snorlax's face. Its eyes were open and it seemed to have a long straight mustache. Also, seemed rather strong, and bigger than most Snorlax.

"Vower? Who is he?" Stawolt asked.

"He's our judgement?" Wren asked. "What's that supposed to mean."

"Bring him on!" Kiki cried. "I can take him!"

Aria went closer to the poster and took a better look. She then started to giggle.

"Bertram's not even trying," she said.

"Uhhhhh, what was that supposed to mean?" Riley asked.

"Oh nothing," Aria lied. "I thought I saw a typo but I guess not."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Okay, I've been wrong before, but I know I'm not this time," Aria said. "The so called "D. Vower," is actually named "Derick Bower." He's a well renowned food critic who takes his job very seriously. Some say he's too gentle with his reviews, because he never tries to be negative, but his reviews on food are rarely doubted. He's also a professional wrestler on the side, though his track record is average. I wouldn't be surprised if Bertram got him as a guest for the show. But, I'm gonna humor the poor beaver and pretend I don't know. But then again, maybe I'm supposed to know.

-After Confessional-

"Ay, mind telling us who this D. Vower guy is Bertram?" Drenig yelled at the screen. ...No response given.

"Tee hee, guess we'll have to wait and see what professional food..." Aria started. "I mean Vower wants with us. In the meantime we should resume our hunting routine."

"And how," Chauncey said. "It will be fun going hunting with you guys."

Everyone stared at Chauncey. They knew what to expect from him.

"Have fun ogling Lilly, Chauncey," Kiki said.

"What? Nah, I'm going hunting with you guys," Chauncey said. "Maybe I could shoot today's kill?"

"All in favor of primitive-Golduck?" Aria asked.

"Thy shall dine on thee," Dustin said.

"Stop talking like that!" Kiki said. "It's not quirky, it's just annoying."

"Ay man, back off," Drenig defended. "If he likes L.A.R. as a knight, then why ruin his fun?"

"I can't win that one, can I?" Kiki asked.

"I don't have a problem with it," Wren said.

"Me neither," Stawolt answered.

"Doesn't hurt anyone," Chauncey said.

"Doesn't bother me much," Aria mentioned.

"I for one agree with Kiki," Riley said.

"...Thanks Riley," Kiki said with a smile.

"Too bad the nays have it," Aria brought up.

"I guess," Kiki said as they walked to the hunting grounds. "Alright Chauncey, show us your stuff."

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"She who walks the path of disturbance faces the trials of many sorrows," Dusting said in his L.A.R. voice before switching back. "I don't if a knight would actually say that, but it holds true. If you choose to be bothered by someone else joy, then you will find it hard to be joyful yourself. I can't help it, knights are cool. They wear neat-o armor, get cool weapons and gear, slay Dragonites and Drudgeons. ...Although I do wish knights got cooler mounts. Rapidash is kinda... lame really."

-After Confessional-

Over at Team Artic-Uno, they were hunting primitive-Gogoat. As usual, Lilly was off picking berries. Ruce, Abigale, Yoshi and Muffy were talking as Jet was trying to help Percy with his aim. Percy had thrown a spear at a Gogoat, but missed.

"No, you can't just dampen your power, you're over-thinking it," Jet said. "You think if you throw too hard you'll miss. Throw with all you've got."

"I'll try that," Percy said as he threw his next spear, but this one flew way too far.

"Try to aim lower," Jet suggested.

"Of course," Percy said before trying the next thing Jet suggested. This time he got a successful hit and nabbed today's meal.

"There you go," Jet said with a smile. Percy smiled back.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"He does seem to have changed quite a bit," Percy said. "But I can't help but wonder if he's really my friend or he's only pretending to be my friend. Whatever the case I should keep my eye on him. For now though I'll tolerate it.

-After Confessional-

Over with the others, they were talking about the mysterious Snorlax from the poster.

"Say Ruce, who do you think D. Vower is?" Abigale asked.

"I can only assume he's part of our next challenge," Ruce asked. "But I don't know further details."

"Muffy's not afraid of no fat bear," Muffy said.

"We may not be fighting him though," Yoshi said. "One Pokemon, two teams? How would they make a challenge out of fighting one monster? What if we have to please him somehow to win? That you could work teams into."

"Not to mention the poster," Ruce started. "D. Vower is your judgement. That could mean that he is a judge. A judge who decides which team wins."

"Wow... That makes sense," Muffy mentioned.

"But how do we get him to choose us as the winners?" Abigale asked.

"We have to wait for the challenge," Yoshi said.

"Say, anyone seen that stupid four-eyed ham sandwich anywhere?" Muffy asked.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"I would not say I hate Grant or am afraid of him," Muffy said. "But what is his obsession with acting like an evil genius? Maybe he should become friends with that weird Watchog kid and they can go to L.A.R. conventions with each other. Cause in a way, isn't Grant basically just another glorified L.A.R. ? Even Dustin doesn't take it THAT seriously though."

-After Confessional-

Of course, Grant was back at the bunker, putting a motherboard into his robot.

"Alright I just add this," Grant said. "And now to test the action of my ultimate destructo robot OOOF DOOOOOOOOOM! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

Grant then turned on the robot with a press of the button. ...But once again, nothing happened.

"Oh come on!" Grant said. "What is the problem now! This whole project has been a failure! Ugh, books! Something about robots has to be in these books."

Grant started looking through all the old books one the shelf. None of them had anything on robots. He then looked at the books on Lilly's bed. Still nothing.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Grant cried. "Wait... I forgot to put one in my control remote. ...But I'm still missing something else." That's when it hit him. He snapped his fingers in delight. "Of course, motors. The wires and board have nothing to operate. Oh, but where will I get motors."

We leave Grant to think about his robot and go back to Team Zap-Dos where Chauncey was doing the hunting this time. Drenig and Kiki were helping him a bit.

"Remember the laws of parabola," Drenig said. "Aim slightly above your target, or you might undershoot."

"And don't hold back," Kiki said. "If you can use your force, you'll make a killing blow."

"Right, makes sense," Chauncey said as he spotted a primitive-Golduck in a pool of water. Chauncey threw the spear the best he could, and managed to land a hit in the head.

"Not bad for your first try," Kiki said.

"Thanks for the help Drenig," Chauncey said. "That tip really did help."

"Uhhh, Kiki helped too," Drenig said.

Chauncey looked at Kiki, but swiftly looked away. He didn't seem to be a fan of her.

"Is it about Lilly?" Kiki asked. "I already said you could visit her if you wanted."

"I just think you can be very rude at times," Chauncey said. "I still remember when you insulted my super-lative vocabulary."

"You mean "soo-pur-luh-tiv?" Kiki asked. "You're pronouncing the word wrong."

"I know how to say the word," Chauncey said.

"Man... Kiki's actually right about the pronunciation of that word," Drenig said. Drenig then watched Chauncey fell another Golduck.

"Whatever," Chauncey said as he grabbed the second duck and cut a few chunks out. "I am sure Lilly will appreciate it if I shared some of my prey with her." He then ran off to find Lilly.

"Ay, what's his problem?" Drenig asked Kiki.

"Chauncey doesn't seem to like me very much," Kiki said. "He seems to think I'm rude. I don't try to be. I have a trigger, but I'm still likeable. ...Aren't I?"

"Well, you did insult my friend earlier," Drenig said to her.

"I'm sorry," Kiki said. "But he does kind of annoy me."

"Ay, just let it go for now," Drenig finished.

Meanwhile the others were talking about Riley, who once again was sitting in his tree away from everyone else.

"Why is he always staying away from us if he has the option?" Aria asked.

"I guess he just likes being alone," Wren said. "That's what I can tell."

"Thy has faced many trials in his life," Dustin started. "But he conceals his inner wealth."

"Duh, could you clarify that?" Stawolt asked.

"Uhh, I think what he means is maybe there is worth in him, but his life experience causes him to be less open about it," Wren tried to answer.

"Well done, young sir," Dustin said.

"But he still needs to learn teamwork," Aria said.

"Duh, didn't he help in getting the key for the bunkers?" Stawolt asked.

"No, he just gave us the idea," Aria answered.

"Oh, I thought he helped," Stawolt said.

"Well, he did help in the last challenge," Kiki said, walking over to the group.

"Still, he could be a bit less... Antisocial," Aria declared.

Over by Chauncey and Lilly, Lilly was at the same berry patch picking berries , but had a few pechas in her arm. Chauncey was approaching her with the Golduck meat behind her back.

"Uhhh, hello?" Chauncey greeted.

"What do you want," Lilly said.

"I see you found a Pecha tree," Chauncey said.

"Yeah, not too far from here," Lilly stated.

"Anyway, I wanted to give you some of today's kill," Chauncey offered, showing her the Golduck meat. "It's Golduck. Not sure if you've ever..."

"UGH! That is disgusting!" Lilly yelled.

"Huh? No good?" Chauncey asked. "What if I got Unfezant instead?"

"No! No Unfezant, no Tauros, no Emboar or any meat of any kind! I hate the taste of meat!" Lilly yelled. "And I also don't care about the idea of having other creatures die for our convenience when we can avoid it."

"Whoa, I'm not trying to be mean," Chauncey said. "I was only trying to be nice."

"I know," Lilly said before she started walking away. "But you should ask someone what they like before presenting them with something they loathe."

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Me again," Chauncey said to the camera. "Yeah, I guess I struck out again. But I'm not giving up. Over the course of the game I will learn about her so I can avoid those mistakes. But then again the team. Lilly, the team, yadda yadda yadda come on we've been through this already."

**-Iron Chefs-**

After the teams had aten breakfast, who would pop up on the screen besides their old pal Bert?

"He's almost here, he's almost here and we're short staffed," Bertram said.

"Who's almost here? You mean D. Vower?" Abigale asked.

"Yeah, who's this Vower guy?" Muffy added.

Over on the other side, Aria was trying to hold back a giggle fit.

"He's only the most dangerous and terrifying food critic around," Bertram said. "He has shut down over 47 restaurants for forgetting to provide condiments."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"BAHAHAHA! Ooh, big terrifying food critic," Aria said. "Come on, that's not even feasible! Bower's only shut down three restaurants, and that's because their food was beyond repair. EVERY food critic does that."

-After Confessional-

"Wow, he must be a tough critic," Percy mentioned.

"D. Vower is not just a tough critic, but is also very strong," Bertram continued. "He has been known to kill Pokemon just for serving his burger well done."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"BAHAHAHAHA! That never happened!" Aria laughed. "Bower's a gentle Pokemon. Sure, he's big and strong for his species, but killing others for serving his burger wrong!? Bertram's just making this up as he goes along."

-After Confessional-

"Why would they let someone like him get away with all of this?" Kiki asked.

"They didn't," Bertram stated. "One day a restaurant decided to put sleeping drugs in his food. The owners shipped him off to Quarantine where he was bitten by zombies and now controls an entire legion of hungry creatures."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"THIS JUST CANNOT GET BETTER!" Aria outburst, her voice becoming so high pitched she could barely talk. "Beware the evil food critic and his army of THE UNDEAHAHAHAHAD! Why didn't he just tell us the truth about Bower and say jeleous food critics did that to him? That would have been SO much more believabAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

-After Confessional-

"And now we have to serve food to this guy?" Lilly said. "Sounds like a challenge."

"AND his legion of zombies," Bert mentioned. "Oh and one note: To the snarky squid-face who keeps spamming the confessionals with sarcasm!"

"Eh, uhhhh..." Aria said, not exactly laughing any more.

"You are lucky I don't just kick contestants out for being annoying but I am warning you that your attitude is NOT amusing," Bertram said. "You don't even know WHO D. Vower is, and he is NOT who you think he is. He and the guy you are thinking of are two different Pokemon."

-Confessional Session?-

Aria was struggling to open the door to her confessional booth, but it wouldn't open.

"Come on! Why won't it open!" Aria said.

"Uhhh, Bertram told me not to let you in here for the rest of the episode," a voice inside the shed spouted out.

"What!?" Aria cried. "Oh come on! He can't do that! I just wanted to say..."

"You wanted to comment on him saying that Vower and Bower ar two different Pokemon," the voice said. "Well Bert's had enough. You need time to cool off."

"Hmmmm!" Aria pouted before walking back to her group.

-After Confessional-

"Any particular reason why we have to feed him and his zombies?" Lilly asked. "Why can't we just slay them?"

"To answer that," Bertram said. "I have another special guest helping the challenge. Please welcome back Savil the Witch Doctor."

"We meet again contestants," Savil said.

"Okay, I get it," Aria started. "We basically have too..."

"ZIP IT, BIRD JAW!" Bertram roared, having just about enough of Aria's antics.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Tee hee, actually Aria's attitude is kind of amusing," Kiki said. "Especially if it enrages Bertram. ...Wait... Are we supposed to dislike Bertram? I'm not sure."

-After Confessional-

"As I was saying," Savil continued. "Thank you for your splendid potion, Team Artic-Uno. It will prove handy in today's challenge. And to help explain today's challenge is none other than the head chef of Quarantine. Mignon, please show yourself."

Mignon stepped onto the screen sporting his best smile. He was ready to lecture the contestants.

"Faa Favil," Mignon started. "Beu harf fo imforforaa fa poffon faf Frath threathif yethferfey." As usual, no one could understand a word Mignon said.

"Maybe I should just explain it myself," Savil said. "You are to each work in restaurant business and serve to crowds of zombies. A legion of 100 zombies will come to your restaurant and order your food. Then they will each fill out a slip to say if they were satisfied or not. The more zombies that leave satisfied, the more points you get, a point for each zombie. Then you must EACH make a signature dish for Vower himself. He will score each dish accordingly. Maximum of 15 points per contestant, so 120 per team, which leaves a grand of 220 points possible."

"And we have to incorporate the potion into each dish?" Lilly asked. "Sorry, I actually talk Aria's language quite well." Savil let out a sigh.

"Yes, we are doing this to help cure zombification so every dish must incorporate the potion," Savil answered.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"I have no problem with Aria's sarcasm," Lilly said. "I like being sarcastic myself to be honest. You'd be surprised how many idiots I run into, and sarcasm comes naturally over time."

-After Confessional-

"Ugh, a cooking challenge?" Riley asked. "That is completely boring and uncool."

"I don't even know how to cook," Wren said.

"I've always just ate stuff raw," Stawolt said.

"Thy be a knight! Thy does not dabble in th path of cooking," Dustin said.

"Fev fwee fwil feeth foo foo fook," Mignon said. Just then, two Lickitungs came onto the screen with absurdly long tails, but you could not see their tongues.

"Hey! What's happening!" one Lickitung said. "I'm Slice! And my friend there is Dice! We can teach you how to be a chef!"

"Yeah, I guess so," Dice said.

"Come up stairs!" Slice mentioned. "There are kitchens prepared to help you fight the good fight!"

"As you can tell, Slice is quite enthusiastic," Dice mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Abigale)-

"Me and sis also like to cook," Abigale started. "I remember when we made breakfast in bed for our parents. I was only a wee Azurill at the time. ...I also remember the reaction my dad made when I spilled coffee all over his brand new bedsheets. Oh well, I'm sure me and my sister will do good in this challenge."

-After Confessional-

Everyone gathered around at the top. Zap-Dos was given Slice as their mentor, while Artic-Uno got the calmer Dice as their teacher.

"Okay, I guess we should figure out what dishes to make for the zombies," Dice said to Artic-Uno. "We shuld start off with some basics like grilling burgers and frying Blaziken to harder things like stuffed manicoti and chili releno.

"Can we have a vegetarian dish?" Lilly asked.

"Uhh, why would we want that?" Dice asked.

"You never know, maybe a zombie would rather have something less fattening," Lilly said.

"Are you suggesting I'm fat?" Dice asked.

"Did I say anything about you?" Lilly asked. "I said some zombies might want to watch their weight." There was a pause.

"You stupid vegetarians and your excuses," Dice said. Lilly was on the verge of erupting.

"Are you telling me vegetarian cuisine can't be good!?" Lilly challenged.

"Yeah, she didn't even do anything, and you pretty much insulted her!" Muffy defended.

"She called me fat," Dice answered.

"I did NOT!" Lilly yelled.

"Uhh, not sure what to add here," Jet said to Percy as he watched the fire burn.

"Can we just drop it?" Percy asked. "Why doesn't Lilly make her best vegetarian dish for Vower, and if he likes it, you owe Lilly an apology."

"You're telling me to apologize to..." Dice started until Percy walked up to him. Percy was so much bigger than him that Dice felt it best to shut up.

"That was quite noble of you," Yoshi complimented. "And quite noble of you too Muffy for standing up for Lilly."

"Really?" Muffy said happily.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"EEEE! I think I'm getting the hang of it!" Muffy cheered. "I can be courageous and strong. Wait till all the bullies see the new me. They'll rethink their opinions on me then."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Dice seems to be the type that's easily offended," Percy said. "EEEEEEEEEEEAsily offended."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"How do you go about not eating primitives!?" Jet cried. "How can you give up something so delicious!?"

-After Confessional-

Team Zap-Dos was having a more pleasant time, as Slice already got them started in the kitchen.

"Wow, you guys are working like professionals!" Slice proclaimed.

Aria was removing bones from a primitive Blaziken before frying them up, and her work was pretty good. Wren was right next to her stiring something in a bowl. Wren couldn't help but look over at Aria and smile.

"You cooked before?" Wren asked.

"Honey, have I cooked before," Aria said rhetorically. "You ever been to one of my concerts?"

"No I can't say I have," Wren stated.

"Printed In Ink is the name of our group," Aria said. "We generally like to travel, and we also cook our own food for extra profits."

"How much you make a show?" Wren asked. Aria let out a sigh.

"Only a thousand bucks a show," she said. "Divide that among four Pokemon and I only get around two-fifty average. Barely enough to get by."

"So you came here to get some extra oomph?" Wren asked.

"Pretty much," she responded.

Wren looked to his left to see Stawolt. He was struggling to use the blender correctly and it splattered all over his face. Stawolt looked kinda sad.

"What's wrong Stawolt?" Wren said, shifting his attention to him. "You look like you could use some help."

"Duh, I don't have any knowledge in cooking," Stawolt said.

"It's okay friend," Wren said. "Look it's not too hard, you just have to read the words on the buttons."

"Duhhhh I can't read the words," Stawolt said.

"You're not illiterate," Wren stated. "You read the sign yesterday at the tech lab, I know you can read."

"Those were big words," Stawolt said. "I can barely see the words on the blender."

"Oh, I can help," Wren offered. "The button on the left says slow. You might want to start with that one. The second button says steady, that's like the medium option. The third one says fast, which is the option you should probably avoid."

"Duh, okay," Stawolt said before pushing the slow button. "How do I know it's done?"

Over by Riley, he was making a halfhearted effort in chopping vegetables.

"Ugh, why am I supposed to do this again?" Riley asked himself.

Riley then took a pack of meat next to him, unwrapped it and set it down next to the vegetables and started chopping it too.

"Whoa there," Slice said, rushing over to Riley. "You don't want to cross contaminate the carrots by putting the meat next to it."

"Whatever," Riley said, not paying attention to Slice.

"Come on, show some spirit, cooking can be fun," Slice said.

"Speak for yourself," Riley said to Slice.

"Your not gonna win your team the challenge with that kind of attitude," Slice mentioned.

"I hate cooking," he said. "I don't even care, I just want to get through this."

"Is that so?" Kiki asked, standing right next to him. "Cause you realize if you cost us the challenge that you'll be the next one to go, right?"

"I can handle myself," Riley said.

"Separate your foodstuffs!" Kiki yelled.

"Don't talk that way to me," Riley said.

"YOU ARE FORGETTING WHO CONTROLS YOUR FATE!" Kiki shouted. "So far this competition you have had numerous problems working in a team! You know what that leads to? A person who doesn't help the team causes their team to suffer! And a player who causes their team to suffer is GONE!"

"Alright! Alright already!" Riley yelled, finally separating the food.

"Don't forget to re-wash the vegetables," Kiki stated.

"Yes your majesty," Riley mocked right before washing vegetables.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Geeze, Kiki's got a lot of nerve on her," Riley said before smiling. "I kinda like it, actually."

-After Confessional-

Over on team Artic-Uno, Grant was scrounging the kitchen for something until he found an emulsion blender. He turned it on and laughed at the machine as it whirred in his hands.

"MWAHAHAHA! What a powerful motor!" Grant cried before turning it off and putting it down. "In fact too powerful."

Grant wasn't looking so much for a motor, but an energy source that would power his robot. That's when he saw a nice battery-operated can opener.

"Hmmm," Grant thought as he watched Ruce use the can opener. "Not too strong. That could work."

Once Ruce left, Grant went over to the can-opener and tried to look casual. He started to whistle and eventually swipe a hand into the can opener, knocking it to the floor. The can opener smashed to pieces, revealing a good power source and some batteries.

"Oops, sorry," Grant said out loud before quickly taking the things he needed for his robot. It was a hard doubt that he'd do anything for his team.

**-Aren't Zombies Supposed to Eat Brains?-**

It was almost time for the big rush, and the competitors were working their hardest to learn their last bit of info. Right before the wave, Muffy took the liberty of making her team donuts.

"I thought the team might like some energy before the game starts," Muffy said before holding a plate of donuts out for her team.

"YAAAY!" Abigale cheered as she immediately grabbed one. Everyone else did too. ...Expect for Jet.

"I don't eat fatty foods like that," he said. "It all turns into carbs, and carbs are bad for the figure."

"One donut's not gonna hurt you," Ruce said.

"Come on, I made them special," Muffy said.

"Like I said, I'll have to pass," Jet said.

"TAKE A STUPID DONUT!" Muffy erupted. "...Please?"

"Hmmmm, maybe just half," Jet said before taking a donut, breaking it in half, and then started to panic. "Oh no! Now I want the other half! Why did I eat that donut?"

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Who can control themselves around sweets," Jet asked. "That is why I don't subject my tongue to them because when you eat ONE, then you want another. The same reason I don't play video games or watch Greninja Warrior. You play or watch it once, and you want to keep going, and that doesn't shave the fat off."

-After Confessional-

"Alright guys," Dice started as he looked over his team. "Why don't we decide on a theme?"

"Deserts Diner!" Muffy cried. "Yeah, we could sell clubs, BLTs, and baked goods."

"The zombies should REALLY love that," Yoshi said.

"Ooh, maybe some malts too," Percy said.

"We could call it Artic-Uno's Treats and Sandwiches," Muffy said.

"Now hang on, we have to incorporate the potion," Lilly said.

"Well, we can infuse all the bacon we cook with the potion," Grant said. "When cooked just right, bacon is quite absorbent."

"Adding it to malts and cupcakes will be easy," Percy mentioned.

"And we can even make donut glaze with the potion," Muffy said happily.

Team Artic-Uno cheered. They really liked Muffy's idea to make a desert diner.

Over at Team Zap-Dos, they were thinking about their theme as well.

"Ay, what about classic diner food?" Drenig suggested.

"You mean like burgers and french fries?" Aria asked.

"Yeah, we could even sell sodas and Reubens and all sorts of stuff," Drenig said.

"We can infuse the burgers with the potion," Wren suggested.

"We can also brine the sauerkraut with it," Chauncey suggested.

"Duh, and maybe put it in the soda?" Stawolt added.

"Doesn't that theme sound a bit easy?" Kiki asked.

"But that's the point," Aria stated. "We take a familiar route, and the zombies will be attracted to familiar food."

"Thy name for our fortress shall be what?" Dustin asked.

"Ay, what about... Rodney's Retro Restaurant?" Drenig said.

"...Why Rodney?" Riley asked. "Who's he?"

"Just a name," Drenig said. "I also work with a guy named Rodney."

"I think it's a fine name," Aria stated.

"Yeah, it will do," Chauncey agreed. "Okay, looks like we're ready."

"Excellent!" Slice called back. Slice was right next to the group just as Dice was, so he could hear clearly the plan. "I guess that raps it up. Now it's time to design the signs for the restaurants."

Minutes later, stalls were positioned at the gates to the hunting grounds. Kitchens were put in the halls for the contestants to work with. Team Artic-Uno's sign had cupcakes and deserts all over it, while Team Zap-Dos' sign had a nice checkerboard pattern and a plate of burgers and fries.

"And here come the customers," Dice said to the teams.

"Let the first ever Quarantine Kitchen Wars begin!" Slice proclaimed.

Eventually, the first zombies came. Aria, Stawolt and Wren were at the front. In the Zap-Dos kitchen, the first zombie was a zombie Meowth that was painted a dull green and had swamp grass on it. One of its eyes was also shut. One contestant in particular, of course, had a hard time not laughing.

"Oh please, that's a zombie?" Aria asked.

-Confessional Session?-

"You're still not allowed in here, you know," the voice in the confessional said as Aria tried to go near it.

"Hmmmm!" Aria pouted again.

-After Confessional-

"You! Sell Raticate burgers?" the Meowth asked.

"Duh, sorry, our burgers are made from Tauros like normal," Stawolt said.

"Wah! That doesn't please me," the Meowth said.

"Oh come on! He's not even talking like a zombie!" Aria cried.

"Wait, maybe we CAN makes something work," Wren said. "You could try one of our burgers, they're even better. Extra Miltank cheese."

"Hmmmmm, okay, let's see what you got," the Meowth said.

"Right honey, I'll get your order ready," Aria said as she went in and got to work. In a few minutes, she came out with a pretty scrumptious looking cheeseburger. "Enjoy."

The Meowth took the burger and took a bite from it. A small smile formed on it's face. ...But then he keeled over under the counter.

"Huh? Darling, what's wrong?" Aria asked. But the moment she looked over, the Meowth came back up, except the paint was gone, the eyes were open and all the grass was gone. He no longer looked like a fake zombie anymore.

"Hey! Not bad!" The Meowth proclaimed. "I need to tell the others about this."

As the Meowth walked off, she just burst into laughter. It was impossible for her to take the situation seriously. Eventually, Stawolt laughed along with her. Wren seemed a bit uneasy about her laughter.

"Aria, I know it's all fake but... It's not supposed to look real," Wren said. "It's just a game show, treat it like one."

"I know, but it's still hilarious," she answered.

Over at Artic-Uno's side, their first customer came and it was a green colored Durant with some more seaweed. Muffy, Yoshi and Lilly were there to greet him.

"Give me a cupcake," he said to the three.

"Certainly," Lilly said before going into the kitchen and started making batter. ...Without eggs. Instead she used her favorite vegetarian substitute ingredients. "I hope the others don't mind," she said to herself.

She then came out with her cupcake and gave it to the Durant. The Durant looked at it and thought it looked funny.

"What did you do?" the Durant asked.

"Nothing," Lilly said. "I just used my own ingredients."

"Wait! You gave him a vegetarian cupcake!?" Muffy asked. "...What's the difference?"

"No eggs in the batter," she responded. "I used something else."

The Durant took a big bite of the cupcake, and just like the Meowth keeled over. The Durant then came up and looked much more normal, just like the Meowth.

"This is a vegetarian cupcake?" the Durant asked. "It tastes as good as a normal one. Excellent work." After the Durant walked off, Lilly felt cause to gloat.

"Did you hear that Dice? My vegetarian cupcakes are just as good as regular ones," Lilly said.

"Whatever," Dice called back from the back of the kitchen.

It was then that the rush started and the kitchens were ablaze with cooking. They needed the whole team for this, but Riley was not working. Drenig, who was currently grilling burgers was looking over at him.

"Ay, could you help the team out?" he asked.

"Ugh, do I have to?" Riley asked.

"This is a TEAM sport," Drenig reminded.

"Whatever," Riley said before going over to a barrel where Chauncey was mixing ingredients for a soda.

"I wonder how you carbonate soda," Chaunce asked before he took a cup in the soda. The soda was mostly water with sweet ingredients and no carbonation, so it technically wasn't soda. It might still taste good though.

"You want me to stir the soda?" Riley asked.

"I think you might be able to help make the swiss cheese for the Reubens," Chauncey said pointing over too a cheese maker.

"Stupid contraption," Riley said before walking up to it and looking at it. "I'm sure I can make it work."

Drenig had just sent out an order to Wren that had some french fries, three burgers and some soda.

"Alright, one order with fries and soda, one with fries and burger, two with burger and soda, four just fries, and two for just soda," Wren said as he started handing stuff out. He handed a soda to a Seismitoad and as usual, he keeled over and came back up looking normal. ...Except his face wasn't happy.

"You call this soda?" the Seismitoad asked. "It's just syrup flavored water."

The other zombies who got the soda thought the same way. Wren saw one of the zombies place their cup down and decided to drink it. He did agree with the zombies on the drink.

"Chauncey!" Wren called out. "Chauncey I need to..."

But just then, Stawolt was coming towards Wren and his first reaction was to stop right away. Stawolt had just turned around and was caught off guard, causing him to spill the entire plate on Wren.

"Oops, sorry Wren," Stawolt said. Wren started to clean himself off.

"That's okay," Wren comforted. "We all make mistakes friend."

Stawolt couldn't help but smile at Wren. He made him happy.

-Confessional Session(Stawolt)-

"Wren is one of the nicest people I know," Stawolt asked. "I hope we can be friends forever, even when the show's over."

-After Confessional-

Over by Artic-Uno's station, Abigale, Ruce, and Grant were making sandwiches. Muffy even came up to them with toothpick ornaments with smiling Oshawotts on the,

"Guys, don't you think it'd be so cute if we put these on everything?" Muffy asked.

"Huh? Well sure, I suppose but..." Ruce started before stuttering a bit. "Why? I mean, I don't expect you to just come up to us and ask if we add cute toothpicks to our food items."

"I used to really adore Oshawotts," Muffy said. "A lot of the kids at school bullies me for it though."

"They're adorable," Abigale said.

"Wretched," Grant mentioned. "Why does food need to be cute? Who cares?"

"Well I just thought..." Muffy started before she saw Jet immediately hop to the table they were working at and jumped right over their heads.

"Woops, coming through guys," Jet said after he cleared Muffy and went up to the counter.

"That was random," Muffy stated. "But any I just thought the zombies might like something to make them happy before they eat."

"Yeah, but if the food stinks, won't that make them depressed?" Ruce asked.

"I... I don't know," Muffy answered. "I guess I didn't think about it much."

"What do you mean I overcooked the donuts!" erupted from the service counter where Jet and Percy were. Jet was angry that a zombie didn't like his donuts. It was an angry Musharna yelling at him.

"Just that, frog legs," the Musharna said. "The donut is tough."

"Real men like their food tough!" Jet yelled. "You're just finding a reason to complain!"

"Jet, most people are accustomed to softer donuts," Percy mentioned.

"Ugh, I don't need this," Jet said out loud. "I need time to cool down."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Is it wrong that I like my food with crunch to them?" Jet asked. "Yeah, I liked Muffy's donut, but it was just missing one thing: That crunchy outside. Chin-Hese bread is a real donut. Every time I go to a Chin-Hese resturaunt, I have to restrain myself at the buffet. Nope, only teryaki Combuseken and sauteed Rhindo berries for me, with maybe a summer roll on the side.

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Yoshi came through with some malts, and was just about ready to give them to customers before Jet rushed past. He noticed he was angry at something, but was unsure what. But he did know now was not the time to be angry. As he got up to the customers, he saw Percy and shot a look at him.

"Did something happen," Yoshi asked before turning back to the customers. "Enjoy." Yoshi took a bow before the zombies started to happily drink their malts.

"Jet went off after someone said he overcooked the donut," Percy answered.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Jet, Jet, Jet, what to say about him," Percy started. "I can't help but wonder if it literally isn't possible for him to be likeable. One day he's the most uncontrollably self-centered creature on the planet, the next he's a happy button waiting to be pressed. Maybe he's just beyond repair."

-After Confessional-

Back at Team Zap-Dos, Chauncey finally figured out how to carbonate the soda. Nearby, Riley was carrying a HUGE log of Swiss cheese.

"Well, I did it," Riley said in a droning tone.

"Exceptional," Chauncey said. "Now to test it." Chauncey then took his elbow and almost started to cut the cheese. ...Except he forgot one thing. "Woops, no natural weapons, I keep forgetting."

Meanwhile, Stawolt was cutting potatoes. ...Very sloppily to be precise. He was also near Chauncey and Riley and offered his knife.

"You uh need this?" Stawolt said before handing the blade to Chauncey blade first.

"Stawolt, you're supposed to hand it to me the other way," Chauncey corrected.

"Duh, right," Stawolt said while fiddling around with the knife. Eventually, he dropped it point first on the floor. Fortunately the Pokemon's toes were spared.

"Oops, why am I so clumsy?" Stawolt asked.

Chauncey sighed as he went over to a sink with the knife and cleaned it off. He then came back to Riley and cut a piece of cheese off to test it. It was... super chewy and tough.

"You didn't run the machine for long enough," Chauncey said.

"Ugh, I just wanted to get it done," Riley said to the two.

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Stawolt's clumsiness is pretty dangerous, and Riley just doesn't care," Chauncey mentioned. "I don't even know which I'm more willing to work with. Riley's lack of consideration is not going to win us many challenges, but I'm starting not to feel safe around Stawolt. But then again, Stawolt's actually proved himself. Maybe Riley does have potential deep down and he's just not showing it."

-After Confessional-

On Team Artic-Uno, they were just finishing the last few orders. Yoshi, Muffy and Abigale were at the stand. Abigale was just handing the last vegetarian cupcake they had and had earned one more point for the team.

"Thank you, come again," Abigale shouted to the leaving customer despite knowing full well she wouldn't be doing this again.

Eventually, something averted each teams The screens out in the hallway were on and Bertram and Savil were on the screens talking about the event.

"That's all two-hundred zombies served," Bertram started.

"Results will be in shortly as the last converted Pokemon arrives in my cave," Savil stated. "But right now all I can say is that I am proud of you all."

"But you're not out of the woods yet," Bertram stated. "There's still Vower and he is BAD! The only way to satisfy him is with sixteen courses of food."

"How much does he need to eat?" Abigale asked her sister.

"His kind eats A LOT," Ruce stated.

"Remember, one dish per person," Savil stated. "Give them each your best dish and remember to incorporate the potion into your meal."

Just then, a few Pokemon came in and handed Bertram and Savil some paper sheets. After reading them all, Bertram smiled.

"We have news," Bertram stated. "It was a close race... Actually no it wasn't. Eighty-Six to Fifty-Nine points in favor for... Team Artic-Uno!"

"Oh my gosh, we won!" Muffy cried. Abigale was cheering along with her until Lilly broke the news.

"You realize it's not over yet, right?" Lilly asked.

Over by Zap-Dos, they were feeling the pressure.

"I feel so stupid right now," Aria said.

"No... Did I do something wrong?" Stawolt asked.

"Thy is not at fault," Dustin said before reverting his voice. "It was a team screw up."

"Oh please," Riley stated. "We'd be much better off without butterfingers the boulder over there."

"Yeah, well at least I TRIED to help," Stawolt challenged.

"I think you BOTH contributed," Kiki stated. "I don't want to sound mean, but you BOTH need to get your act together."

"Okay," Stawolt and Riley said in unison.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"In my judo practice, I've learned to never back down," Kiki stated. "Someone's gotta take charge, and I'll be the one if I have to. Hopefully they realize I'm just trying to keep the team hungry instead of outright insulting them.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Ugh, what is wrong with Riley?" Wren asked. "He decides to take it easy, then he throws Stawolt right under the school wagon! I tried to help him, I really did. But maybe he is just lost. There's not much I can do."

-After Confessional-

"Don't give up thought," Savil started. "There's still a chance you can come back. If you manage..."

But unbeknownst to Savil and Bertram, there was a big creature right behind them. It was wearing a big tattered formal shirt with a dirty tie and was painted in the same swampy green other zombies were. The creature was also incredibly plump. No doubt about it, it was Vower.

"Hey! Get out of my way!" He yelled as he violently pushed Bertram and Savil to the side. He then smacked something in front of him and the focus on the screen zoomed to his head. His eyes were both open, unusual for his species who preferred to keep theirs closed. "Well, it looks like my welcoming party got delayed!"

**-Who's Cuisine Reigns Supreme?-**

"Yikes, he's big," Grant said.

"He doesn't seem to have any honor," Yoshi added.

"Who does he think he is!?" Drenig cried.

"...Hi Derek Bower," Aria taunted.

"You have converted many of my minions so it seems," Vower said. "I won't let that go unpunished. Let's see if you can face up to a REAL challenge! My hunger cannot be satisfied so easily! Do NOT think you can just stick fast food in my face and expect me to eat it, so accept my proposal: Make your best dish and bring it to Savil's cave! That is where we will have our little showdown. If you can satisfy me, I will let you AND these two idiots..." Vower grabbed Bertram and Savil by the necks. "Live. Got it? Good!" He then threw them back away from the screen. "And don't chicken out either, cause I will have the rest of my legion hunt you down."

Finally the screens turned off and contestants were left wondering. What if no one made a dish worthy enough? Obviously he wouldn't kill them so maybe he'd just do the old switcheroo somehow.

"I'm not afraid of him," Percy said. "Come on guys, we can do it. We've been trained to."

Team Artic-Uno all scratched their heads. They were a bit nervous.

"I agree with Percy," Jet said. "We can do it! We've got a whole show to go through. He can't be the worst of it."

They were still very nervous. They didn't know what to think about Vower, though he did raise a point. The show would only get harder as contestants fell out.

"Well me and my pal Percy aren't afraid," Jet said.

"You and your pal Percy?" Ruce asked.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Me and my pal Percy aren't afraid," Ruce mimicked in a squeaky voice. "I swear, he's trying to suck up to him. No one is going to appreciate that."

-After Confessional-

"Well me and my minion aren't afraid either," Grant said. "Evil HAS no fears!"

"To evil!" Abigale said. "He he, you're funny Grant."

"Yes, you've told me that several times minion," Grant said.

"I have something to prove," Lilly said. "I want to prove that NOW."

"Lets GO!" Muffy cheered. With her cry, everyone went to their kitchens to prepare.

...But over at Team Zap-Dos, they were getting even more nervous.

"The dark horse rides to the castle of victory, thou we are stuck in the mountains," Dustin stated. "How will we make a come back from our position?"

"I know I'm a good cook," Aria said to the group. "But one good cook will not be enough. ...I don't even know."

"I know what I'm making," Chauncey stated. "I've got a great idea for a vegetarian dish that I..."

"Let me guess, Lilly?" Kiki asked.

"What? No!" Chauncey said. "Lilly's no vegetarian. I just wanted to try something new."

"Alright, maybe I was wrong," Kiki said. "Sorry about the outburst."

"Sure you are," Chauncey said, still having a rivalry against Kiki.

"Duh, I still don't know how to cook," Stawolt asked.

"Don't worry, I'll help you," Wren said. But just then, Vower came back on screen.

"Oh and by the way," he started. "I have taken the liberty of infiltrating a security base stationed in Savil's cave, so I see everything you do and hear everything you say. So I ask you NOT to help each other. This is STRICTLY to be your dish. Got it? Good!" The screen then logged off.

"Whaaaaaaat!" Wren cried. "I can't even help my friend out!?"

"I'll be fine Wren," Stawolt said. "I... I think I can handle it on my own."

"I wish I could ask if you're sure," Wren started. "But I don't really have a choice. I hope you do alright."

"Alright guys! Let's get cooking!" Kiki yelled.

Team Zap-Dos got to work right away. Aria decided to make a comfort dish in the form of mac n' cheese and shredded fried Combuseken strips with some spices, Kiki decided to prepare some fresh sushi rolls out of fresh primitive-Basculin, Drenig made a classic Calicona burger with some seasoned potato wedges, Dustin decided to make smoked ham "old kingdom" style, Wren made three-cheese grilled sandwiches with some fresh Tamato berry soup, Stawolt made some extra-fudge brownies for desert, Riley just made a simple baked Combuseken sandwich with greens and mayonnaise, and Chauncey... made a lettuce bowl in the shape of a flower filled with some steamed vegetables.

"I call it the Lilly special," Chauncey said out loud. ...Right before Kiki shot a look at him. "I mean... I don't have a name."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Chauncey seems to be attracted to one of the opposing members of Team Artic-Uno," Wren said. "But as long as he can keep his focus on the team, I don't see a problem with that. I don't get why Kiki has to nag at him. ...I know she's just looking out for the team, but still."

-After Confessional-

Over at Artic-Uno, they were really getting going. Yoshi made an eastern stew from his homeland which he hoped the judges would like, Ruce made a big breakfast sandwich with eggs, ham and cheese to remind her of the days she and Abigale would make breakfast in bed for their parents. Likewise, Abigale made some pancakes and sausage. Lilly was working on a spinach and cheese lasagna, Grant was working on some kind of drink and Muffy made some soft sugar cookies in the shape of Excadrills with licorice frosting.

"Oh these cookies are so cute!" Muffy said, showing them around. "I wish I could just eat them now."

"WHO BROKE THE CAN OPENER!" a sound erupted from deep in the kitchen. They could see Jet with a can of jalapenos next to the device that a certain porker decided to break apart for his robot. Of course Grant kept his mouth shut. "I can't open this can without a can opener!"

Percy, who was working on grilling a steak ran over to Jet and looked around. He looked at all the tables and shelves but didn't see a spare can opener.

"They don't have a spare?" Percy asked.

"No! I checked," Jet said. "I need the jalapenos for my light and spicy Blaziken tacos."

"Maybe you should just stick with Pico-de-gayo," Percy said.

"They already have pico-de-gayo," Jet said.

"I think they will be fine without the jalapenos," Percy said.

"Maybe," Jet thought. "But I still want them to be spicy."

"Well I guess it can't be helped," Percy said to him. But then he turned back to his steak and noticed it was burning. "ACK!" Percy yelled before he went back to the steak. "Aww man I can't serve this. ...But I don't have time to fix it. *Sigh*"

Eventually attention turned to Lilly as she put a sprig of parsley on her lasagna.

"I hope he won't kill me for this dish," Lilly said.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Yoshi complimented.

"I'm still kind of nervous making a vegetarian dish for Vower," Lilly stated.

"You'll do fine," Yoshi repeated.

"Right. Time to prove Dice wrong," Lilly proclaimed as she started out past the kitchen and lead her team to the cave.

Team Zap-Dos was feeling the pressure, with their team behind they were quite shaky. Even Aria was kind of nervous.

"Well, I hope you guys have put all of your heart and soul into each dish," Aria called to the rest.

"Ay did what I could," Drenig said. "But I don't make burgers often, so I'm nervous."

"We can't show fear," Kiki stated. "Even if we lose, we must not show weakness. Cause what doesn't kill us..."

"Makes us stronger?" Riley asked.

"Exactly," Kiki stated.

"Hey, Aria," Wren called out. "When presenting to Vower, do you think you could show him an example of your beautiful singing voice?"

"Huh... That could work maybe to win a few points," Aria stated. "I hear Derick Bower really likes good music."

"Wait, who?" Stawolt asked.

"Oops, I meant vower," Aria said sarcastically.

"Thy tongue assassin in black coat," Dustin started. "Do you know something we don't?"

"Well, if you hadn't guessed, Vower is actually an actor," Aria stated.

"We know," said everyone else except Stawolt.

"So you're pretty much just playing along," Aria assumed.

"Something among that," Kiki mentioned.

Eventually everyone made it to the cave where Vower was waiting at a long table. Eventually, six zombies arose at the table, three on each side. They each started lighting candelabras on the table right before Vower took a dinner cloth tucked into his shirt and threw it onto the ground in front of the table.

"So... You have arrived on schedule," Vower said.

"Yes." Eventually both teams looked at the other side of a cave and saw Savil and Bertram in a cage. "Of course they wouldn't stand you up. They care about their host, don't they?"

"Enough!" Vower said before he looked to the groups. "Well... who would like to go first?"

"I would," Aria started.

"Fine, what do you have?" Vower asked.

"Well..." Aria started.

"_It's the kind of treat that can't be beat!_

_That famous taste gets you off your seat!_

_That secret cheesy blend so fine!_

_This recipe is so divine!_

_You're gonna love this treat!_

_A spicy blend of herbs and kick!_

_Those chicken strips will make you tick!_

_It's Aria's special Mac N' Cheese!_

_Plus Aria's chicken hits those keys!_

_You're gonna love this treat, yeah yeah yeah!_

_You're gonna love this treat, ah one more time!_

_You're gonna love this TREEEAAAAAT!"_

All the contestants clapped after Aria's performance. Aria felt good about herself too.

"That's how you sell food," she said. "With a catchy jingle and a smashing perform..."

"What do you think this is, a kids show!?" Vower yelled. "Your food better deliver after having me sit through that."

Vower started to eat the dish right away. Normally, mac n' cheese and fried chicken wouldn't go together in the same bowl, but after Vower took one bite, he took the bowl and dumped the rest right down his gullet.

"Well," Vower said. "That was actually pretty delicious. You got lucky."

"Thank you," Aria said.

"One note I should make," Vower started. "It's not a good idea to mix the two together: macaroni and chicken. But both were cooked very well, so I will give you a very high score for this solid dish."

-Confessional Session?-

"I already told you you CAN'T come in here today," the voice in the confessional told Aria yet again.

"But I'm not insulting anyone this time, I swear," Aria said. "I just wanted to tell the world how proud I am that he liked my dish."

"No one likes a mon with pride," the voice said.

"Hmmmm!" Aria pouted once more.

-After Confessional-

"Now," Vower started up. "Who would like to go next?"

"Me!" Muffy said, bringing her cookies up to Vower. "I made these cookies special. They're shaped like Excadrills, because don't they remind you of those toaster pastries? Especially the shiny ones. ...Aren't they cute?"

"You know what doesn't look good?" Vower asked. "CUTE! CUTE doesn't look good!"

Vower then took one of the cookies and took a bite. It took him about three bites to finish the cookie.

"I've had better," Vower said before passing the remaining cookies around. After each zombie took one, Vower took the last one for himself. "However, it's nice and soft and has decent flavor, so you're cookies will get a fair rating."

"Thank you, Mr. D," Muffy said. Muffy then went back to her team.

"Next!" Vower called out.

"I shall charge forward for my team," Dustin said before bringing his smoked ham.

"Hmmm, looks nicely charred," Vower said before tasting the outside of it. "Yes, it is nicely charred."

He then took a bite of the inside of the ham. The next thing he did was smack the plate of food onto the cave floor.

"Ugh! You overcooked the whole thing!" Vower yelled. "But your char will get you some points. Next!"

"Thy have failed," Dustin said sadly.

"Ay man, I'll avenge your fall," Drenig said as he went up to Vower with his burger and fries combo. Vower ate one of the fries first. He smiled as he happily ate some of the other fries.

"Crispy, nicely salted, pretty killer fries," Vower said. After eating all the fries, he took a bite of the burger. Once again he dropped the burger on the plate and smacked the plate to the ground.

"Ugh! Just cause it's CALLED "Well done" doesn't make it WELL DONE!" Vower shouted. "Next!"

"Let's go together sis," Abigale said to Ruce.

"You can go first," Ruce said, standing behind Abigale. Abigale went up to the table and presented the pancakes.

"Here you are mister Vower sir," Abigale said.

"You're awfully young to be cooking," Vower said. "I have no doubt this will be a low quality dish."

"What did you say!?" Ruce yelled right before Vower took a bite of the pancakes and the sausage. He once again smacked the plate onto the floor.

"Ugh! Dry pancakes and overcooked sausage!" Vower yelled. "Your dish is just as worthless as you are, you stupid little furfa..."

"Don't you DARE talk that way to my sister, you overgrown brute!" Ruce roared. "She put her heart and soul into her dish!"

"I am NOT here to go easy on you losers!" Vower challenged. "If YOU can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!"

"You are TERRIBLE!" Ruce yelled.

"So probably will be that pathetic sandwich of yours!" Vower yelled as he stood over Ruce. Vower was practically a fortress compared to Ruce. Ruce started to get nervous and cower before him, showing that Ruce actually did fear him. "Give me that!"

Vower swiped the sandwich out of Abigale's hands and started to eat it. He actually didn't throw it on the ground.

"Hmmm, this is actually not bad," Vower stated.

"Ha! Now apologize to my sister," Ruce challenged.

"I owe HER no such apology you whelp!" Vower roared before taking another bite of her sandwich then throwing the rest in Abigale's face. "NEXT!"

"My brownies, Mr. Vower sir?" Stawolt said before bringing his plate of brownies to Vower. Of course as you'd expect Stawolt to do as been the usual of today, he tripped and dropped his brownies. fortunately, most of them reached the table. Vower shook his head as he grabbed a brownie and tried to eat it. ...But when he did, a sharp pain ran through his face.

"OWW!" Vower yelled. "Did you just put frosting on a bunch of rocks!?" Vower yelled. "These brownies are INEDIBLE!" Vower shoved all the brownies onto the floor. He was disgusted by them.

"You... You can't say that," Wren said nervously. "He tried."

"Silence, whelp!" Vower yelled. "Next!:

"Whatever," Riley said as he went up and presented him with the chicken sandwich. Vower took one look at it and then pulled it apart.

"Is this a joke!?" Vower asked as he cut the chicken. It was almost all pink. "You didn't even cook even the combuseken properly!"

"I do NOT cook, okay," Riley said.

"Clearly not!" Vower yelled. "This sandwich is STILL CLUCKING! NEXT!"

"Ugh! We're losing," Kiki cried.

"I shall go next," Yoshi volunteered. Yoshi went up front and presented Vower with his stew. "Please, enjoy."

Vower picked up the spoon that was in the stew and took a spoonful of the stew. He seemed to have enjoyed it as he took the bowl and poured it all in his mouth.

"Hmmm, excellent," Vower said. "A little generous with the spices though. But still, very good."

"My turn?" Kiki asked.

"Yes, you next," Vower said as Kiki brought him the plate.

"At the dojo, we'd eat a lot of sushi," Kiki stated. "Eventually I became a fanatic."

Vower picked up a pair of chopsticks next to the plate and started eating the sushi. Another dish he seemed to really like, as he ate more.

"A very simple dish, but very delicious too," Vower said. "You could start your own sushi palace." Kiki bowed in honor before going back to Zap-Dos.

"I suppose I shall go next," Percy said as he brought Vower the plate. "Yes, I'm sorry it is overcooked," Percy said. Burnt even."

Vower took a knife and cut the steak before eating a piece of the steak. Then he looked down at Percy.

"That's good, you already know what I'm going to do then," Vower said right before tipping the plate over onto the floor. "Next."

"Aww man," Percy said before going back to the group. Jet ran up to Vower with his dish next.

"Spicy Blaziken tacos, fresco style V-mon," he said before showing him the tacos. Vower grabbed one and took a bite. He nodded his head a few times.

"Not extra-ordinary," he said.

"It's because I couldn't have jalapenos because we didn't have a working can opener," Jet said.

"BUT... these are still quite nice," Vower added.

"Ha! And a good chef? I'm too much," Jet said before going back to his group. Grant came up next.

"Mwahahaha! Bottoms up!" Grant said.

"What is it?" Vower asked.

"It's a special potion I made just for you," Grant said. "I'm sure you'll find it sweet?" Vower took a long long stare at Grant. "...It's a fruit smoothie, okay?"

"Oh, alright," Vower said before drinking the smoothie. Not even a drop was spared before smashing the glass on the table.

"Delicious," Vower said. "But very VERY basic. The furry could have made that."

-Confessional Session(Abigale)-

"...Why does everyone hate this costume?" Abigale asked. "Is it too extravagant? But I put so much work into sewing it together."

-After Confessional-

"Only three chefs remain," Vower said. "Wren, Lilly, and Chauncey..."

"I want to save mine for last," Lilly said.

"Very well. Next?" Vower asked.

Wren brought over his grilled cheese and fresh Tamato soup.

"This should be an old classic," Wren said.

"You think I ate peasant food?" Vower asked.

"Uhhh, please... Enjoy anyway," Wren stated before backing up. Vower took a bite of the cheese sandwich, and quickly nodded his head.

"Too creamy, cheeses don't mix well together," he said before tasting the soup. "Your soup is nothing to write home about either." He then tipped another plate of food onto the floor. This insulted Wren.

"I've had ENOUGH of you!" Wren shouted. "This entire time you have been bullying people over their food. Do you enjoy being a jerk?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Vower said.

"You stupid tub of lard!" Wren yelled. His team mates had to restrain him. "You can't get away with your attitude! We will defeat you!"

"Uhhh, if I may," Chauncey asked, stepping forward and presenting him with his vegetable dish. "I call it the Lilly Special."

"...Really?" Lilly asked herself.

Vower took a fork full of vegetables and put them in his mouth. This dish actually made him smile.

"Ingenious," he said. "The vegetables are steamed perfectly and seasoned just as well. And this lettuce bowl? Very creative. You are not totally worthless."

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy," Chauncey chanted. "He said I'm not worthless. Maybe Lilly will give me another chance, and so will my team. I think I'm starting to prove myself as a team player."

-After Confessional-

"Well?" Vower asked, looking at Lilly. "You are last."

"Right," Lilly said, giving a cold stare at Vower, slowly walking up to him with his lasagna.

"Ooh! What do we have here? A lasagna?" Vower said, starting to lick his lips.

"A vegetarian lasagna to be exact," she said.

"A what-now?" Vower asked, widening his eyes.

"No meat, just spinach, noodles and cheese," Lilly said. Vower took a slice of the lasagna, put it on a plate, and then ate it slowly. Very... very... slowly. A tear eventually formed in his eye.

"This is..." he started. "This is just... flawless really."

"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong," Lilly started. "Did you say "Flawless?"

"Yes," Vower said. "In fact, one of the best foods I have ever tasted." Vower then handed out lasagna to the other zombies before taking out a peace of paper and jotting some scores down. This may not be close, but it was still suspenseful watching him write the scores down.

**-Another Farewell To Be Had-**

"Well... I suppose I have dined. Now I shall decide your fate," Vower started. "Your friends remain imprisoned."

"Wait, you're not serious, are you?" Lilly asked.

"A few good dishes didn't satisfy me," he said. "I wanted perfection from all of you. Yes it sounds strict, but that's the point. What kind of zombie overlord would I be if I played fair?"

"Cor-ny!" Aria blurted out.

"And that's it," Vower said. "Your friends stay imprisoned and you shall never ACK!" Vower stopped then grabbed the place on his chest where his heart would be. "What... What is going on! What did you put in that food!?"

"Duh, we didn't put anything in the food mister Vower sir," Grant said.

Vower eventually keeled over behind the table, crouching down till he was out of view. The contestants waited and watched for something to happen. Suddenly, the table started to thump. The zombies that were around the table started to back away as they watched the table move. It's movement became more violent until eventually it bent upward. The zombies started to run away until a creature emerged from below the table, separating it in half, sending the table cloth behind him and throwing the two halves of the table at the zombies, hitting all six of them. Everyone's eyes were now on what emerged. It was Vower, except he was now a normal color and... for some reason his shirt was completely free of tears.

"Funny Bertram, but clothes don't automatically fix themselves when their wearer turns normal again," Aria taunted.

"Huh," Vower said. "This is a very peculiar place. What would I be doing in a cave?" The zombies even emerged from under their tables looking normal. They must at least have hired some cracker-jack costume changers.

"You were here to release us?" Bertram asked. "The key is in your pocket!"

"Huh?" Vower asked as he dug into his pocket. "So it is." Vower walked over to the cage and opened the door for Bertram and Savil to escape from.

"These nice monsters also decided to provide you a sixteen course meal," Bertram said.

"We also have some number here," Savil stated, giving Vower two pieces of paper with scores on them. "There's a list over there with some more numbers," Savil stated, pointing to Vower's list.

"Yes," Vower said as he ran to the list. "Ah, I see. I was judging a cooking competition. These scores go with this paper, and the others... Hmmmm... Right. So what do I do now?"

"Vower, you should probably announce which team has the most points," Bertram stated.

"Please, call me Derick Bower," he said with a smile and a hand wave.

Team Zap-Dos' eyes were now on Aria, as she had brought that name up several times.

"So you DID know who he was," Drenig assumed.

"Gotcha," Aria teased.

"Well, I have tallied the scores, and I'm afraid there is a clear winner," Vower said. Really, it wasn't even close enough to warrant suspense. "With a score of 187 to 135, the winning team? Team Artic-Uno."

There was a bit of cheering going on with Team Artic-Uno. But for the most part, the one with the most pride was Lilly.

"I think a certain SOME ONE owes me an apology," Lilly said.

"Huh? Oh sorry," Bower said.

"Don't worry, not you. He's not in this room actually," Lilly clarified.

"And speaking of which," Bertram said as he went over to Bower. "Team Artic-Uno gets to enjoy one dish of their choosing from this competition."

"Mrs. Lilly?" Abigale asked. "Mr. Bower said your Lasagna was perfect. Could we try that for our prize?" The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Lilly looked over at Bertram and gave a confirming nodd herself.

"Vegetarian Lasagna it is," Bertram said. "And... you will even have the liberty of working with Slice and Dice to make the lasagna, Lilly."

"That pleases me just fine," Lilly said with a smile.

"And as for Team Zap-Dos," Bertram said, turning around. "Well... I'm afraid I'll see you again at the QUARANTINE CHAMBER. Think long and hard about who you want to send home today."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Hmmm... I don't know," she said. "Either Riley or Stawolt. We might have to talk this over."

-After Confessional-

Team Artic-Uno was walking back to their bunkers. Grant was walking next to Abigale and decided to compliment her.

"Don't feel sad," he said. "I actually liked your food. I... ate it off the floor. We evil people are used to doing crazy things. He he."

"Thanks Grant," Abigale said right before he walked off.

Ruce, who was nearby, couldn't help but find her attitude weird. Ruce wanted to talk to her about Grant.

"Why do you hang around him so much?" Ruce asked.

"Cause he's fun to be around," Abigale mentioned.

"He's kind of a lunatic, don't you think?" Ruce questioned.

"He's not evil," Abigale brought up. "He just likes pretending to be an evil scientist. He even told me himself in yesterday's challenge. ...And then he told me not to tell anyone." And unfortunately for Abigale, Grant was still in ear shot. In fact, he was right in front of them.

"YOU!" Grant started. "YOU WORTHLESS MINION! I saved your pathetic life back in that shark tank and you repay me THIS WAY!?"

"I'm sorry Grant," Abigale started. "I forgot you didn't want anyone to..."

"GAH! The illusion is ruined!" Grant said. "Now no one will take me seriously!"

"I'm sorry," Abigale said. "Can we still be friends?"

"There's only one way..." Grant said before he ran off back to the bunker.

"Wait! I didn't mean to!" Abigale pleaded. Ruce then walked over to her sunken sister and put her arm on her back.

"I'm sure he's not that upset," Ruce said. "He's still just playing I can only assume."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"The only way I can resume my reputation as an evil genius is to actually become an evil genius," Grant said. "But... nothing too evil. Not gonna hurt anyone or anything, but I do want people to know how competent I can be. After all it's only a game right? Mwahahaha, release the wrath of the... I can't think of anything good to finish the catchphrase off. ...I'll have to work on it. MWAHAHAHAHAAA!"

-After Confessional-

Back at Zap-Dos' bunkers, the team was deciding who to send home next. It was Aria, Dustin, Drenig and Kiki talking it over.

"Stawolt's been a bit of a jinx lately," Aria mentioned. "Is he worth keeping around?"

"But remember the challenge where he rolled down the hill?" Drenig asked. "Besides, what has Riley done?"

"True," Kiki thought. "And maybe it was just a bad day for Stawolt."

"Well, I was in a challenge with him yesterday," Dustin said. "There was one point where Stawolt rammed into Wren and hurt his head."

"So it isn't something that just happened," Aria said. "He's been a klutz at least since yesterday."

"But so what?" Drenig asked. "Can you REALLY say he's less useful than Riley?"

"It's not an easy decision," Aria mentioned. "I'll have to think about it for a bit."

And finally, the moment came when one more Pokemon would be sent home. Everyone had just drank their milk and Bertram was shuffling his papers. He seemed to be angry about something.

"Come on! Come on! None of you!?" he cried. "None of you voted for Aria?"

"Why should we vote her off just cause YOU don't like her?" Kiki asked.

"Yeah, you're not exactly doing your job by playing favorites," Wren mentioned.

"Whatever, if I call your name you are safe," Bertram started. "Aria, obviously, is safe. The next five are also safe: Kiki, Dustin, Drenig, Wren, and Chauncey. Wow, you're still in this Chauncey."

"Thanks, but you're still playing favorites," Chauncey brought up.

When Wren noticed Stawolt's name hadn't been called yet, he started to give a hug to him out of nervousness.

"I'm scared Wren," Stawolt said. "They wouldn't vote me off, would they?"

"I hope not," Wren stated.

"Hmph, stupid goody-two-shoes," Riley said to himself.

"The last mon who is safe and will NOT be going home yet," Bertram started. Bertram eyeballed Riley and Stawolt, trying to make both of them nervous. Stawolt was shivering in his skin, but Riley just looked away. He didn't seem to care. "The last person staying will be... ... ... ...Riley!"

"Huh!?" Riley blurted in shock.

Wren gasped when he heard Riley's name. Both he and Stawolt froze in dead fear.

"No! Why Stawolt?" Wren asked. "Why does he need to go?"

"The team really despises Riley's lack of teamwork," Bertram stated. "But do not trust their lives around a clumsy Golem, just to clarify."

"But... But..." Wren stuttered. "But he's a good guy! What did he do to deserve this?"

"It's alright Wren," Stawolt said. "I mostly came here to meet friends like you. I didn't expect to make it very far anyway."

Wren still seemed sad as he saw Stawolt walk to the Quarantine chamber. Even a tear shed in his eye. But when Stawolt got to the door, he was too big for it.

"Uhhh, the door's too big," he stated obviously. But right before his eyes, half the capsule opened up to allow him entry.

"Now it's not," Bertram said. Right before Stawolt entered the chamber, he took one last look at Wren and smiled.

"Good luck Wren," he said. "Hope we can still be friends after the show."

And with that, Stawolt entered the chamber. The chamber closed right after him, and filled with green gas. You could see Stawolt's reassuring face until the gas covered him up. And when the gas cleared, he was gone.

"No, I can't believe the one friend I tried to make is already gone," Wren said.

"Maybe we should have maturity tests for MORE than just kids," Bertram threatened.

Everyone had already left to go back to the Zap-Dos bunker. Wren took one last look at the Quarantine chamber before rejoining his group. He was still very sad.

"Well, that was touching wasn't it?" Bertram asked. "Hopefully there will be less of that in the season and more action. And who knows, maybe the crybaby will make some new friends. But only time will tell for that to happen. Well, another episode should be around next week. Until next time, we say goodbye to..."

"A-hahahahaha! YAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" A chilling laugh could faintly be heard up at the chamber as Bertram looked around and started to get scared.

"What was that?" Bertram asked. "Nevermind. Next time! We say goodbye for now!"

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Time for TROUBLE!"_

_The contestants are abducted by one crazy criminal._

_"You will have to fight ALL MY MINIONS!"_

_Contestants must fight through groups of brainwashed Drowzee and Hypno wielding nothing but jousting batons._

_"You're the only person on the team I actually respect."_

_But what else awaits them in the Cave of Dagger-Eyes?_

_"Tee hee hee, time for another twist."_

_Can Zap-Dos come back from a losing streak and escape the cave first._

_"He's just a L.A.R. P. er , he can't actually fight?"_

_All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Cave In and Cave Out._


	5. Chapter 5: Cave In and Cave Out

Episode 5: Cave In and Cave Out

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"If you're gonna make a catch phrase, I would avoid the word "doom." Too cliche."_

_Contestants come face to face with their first villain. ...A villain who totally wasn't a famous food critic pretending to be a zombie._

_"Bertram's not even trying."_

_The teams both got tutelage from Mignon's assistant chefs Slice and Dice._

_"I'm Slice! And my friend there is Dice! We can teach you how to be a chef!"_

_Lilly had strong disagreement with Dice on her vegetarianism._

_"Dice seems to be the type that's easily offended. EEEEEEEEEEEAsily offended."_

_And Aria was kicked out of the confessional for the day._

_"Hmmmm!"_

_Team Artic-Uno rocked the restaurant challenge AND satisfied the food critic better than team Zap-Dos, in a fight that wasn't even close._

_"This is just... flawless really. In fact, one of the best foods I have ever tasted."_

_But a certain someone broke their word._

_"YOU WORTHLESS MINION!"_

_Meanwhile, Zap-Dos contemplated on sending clumsy Stawolt or selfish Riley home. But in the end, Stawolt's clumsiness was too severe to ignore._

_"The team really despises Riley's lack of teamwork, but do not trust their lives around a clumsy Golem, just to clarify."_

_Now Wren is without a friend going into the next challenge. ...Just what is the next challenge? Find now we start Quarantine._

**-DaggerEyes the Deranged-**

Most of the contestants were currently sleeping after last nights challenge. Lilly's lasagna seemed to have indulgent to the point where it made the contestants extra tired. But one Pokemon was currently awake. Grant was putting the the energy sources into his robot and controller, as well as putting a mother chip he found in the can opener into his remote, and then started to giggle.

"This time my robot will work for sure," he said right before turning it on. He could hear a wiring noise that piqued his interest. "It's working," he said to himself as he heard the noise. ...But what he saw was still a stack of coconuts. "This piece of just is useless."

Grant went up to the robot and raised his hoof behind him. He was about to kick the coconut robot to the floor when he saw Abigale and stopped himself.

"Hmmmm... the traitorous little mouse," he said to himself. "What should I do to her. Hmmmm... Well, I could always go with the obvious idea. But first, I'll need some smut to plant."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Well, here begins my start as a REAL evil genius," Grant said. "First task, remove Abigale. Next, remove her sister. Then, remove EVERYONE ELSE! Mwahahaha. Time for TROUBLE! MWAHAHAHAHAhuh? ...I don't care what the vegetarian says. I'm sticking with "here comes the doom."

-After Confessional-

Grant was using a widely believed stereotype that furries were generally perverted in his idea. He went over to the books and looked through them. Eventually he saw one that looked suspicious enough and ripped it out of the book. He then walked over to Abigale and planted the incriminating piece in her arms: just quickly slid it in there. Then he went back to bed and slept till everyone else was up.

Eventually, his team started to wake up. Fortunately for Grant, Abigale was still asleep when the first person to awake walked by. He caught the page out of the corner of his eye and noticed it was a picture of a relatively attractive male Pikachu under a waterfall, with a brush to his back. It wasn't true adult content, but it did still arise suspicions. Next, Jet woke up and walked over to Percy.

"Whatchya looking at bro?" he asked before seeing the page himself. He had a hard time seeing it straight.

"You don't think..." Percy started.

"She's just like every other furry out there?" Jet asked.

"It just seems... Odd," Percy stated.

Eventually, more people woke up and caught Abigale with the attractive Pikachu page in her arms. Everyone was up except Abigale and Ruce.

"I don't believe it," Lilly said. "I never would have thought of it."

"Her mind is sick and twisted," Grant added.

"It's just a male Pikachu," Yoshi said. "I don't get why that's wrong."

Eventually Abigale woke up and saw everyone in front of her. She didn't know what was going on.

"Morning team," she said.

"What the heck is wrong with you!?" Muffy yelled, grabbing the page and showing it to Abigale. "What runs through that sick mind of yours!?"

"Huh?" Abigale asked, dumbfounded by the page. "Wait a minute, I've never even seen that piece of paper."

"Then what's it doing in your arms!?" Muffy asked.

"I... I don't even know," Muffy said, trying to plead her innocence.

"Muffy, lay off her!" Yoshi said. "Even if she did see it, don't we all have things we are attracted to? Like other members of our species or even another species compatible with us?"

"You've never heard of a furry before have you?" Grant asked.

"We have many where I come from," Yoshi said.

"Then you know what they are?" Jet asked.

"They are Pokemon who like exaggerated anthropomorphic Pokemon," Yoshi responded.

"And they're huge perverts," Grant said.

"Wrong," Yoshi said. "Where I come from, that is far from true. Heck, some of my friends are furries and I've known them my whole life. Not a perverted soul in their body."

-Confessional Session(Yoshi)-

"It's a common misconception I've noticed here," Yoshi stated. "But they aren't the only ones. I'm surprised no one's accused Lilly of being a self-righteous jerk who forces her diet on others. It's very depressing seeing these stereotypes put into play."

-After Confessional-

"Sis, they're scaring me," Abigale called out.

"Wah! What's going on?" Ruce asked, springing from her bed.

"We caught your sister with THIS!" Muffy said, showing Ruce the page.

"...So?" Ruce asked.

"Your sister is really starting to weird us out!" Jet said.

"So she has a piece of paper that happens to have a buff Pikachu on it, so what?" Ruce asked.

"Ruce, I didn't have that paper in my arms when I went to sleep," Abigale stated.

"You DIDN'T?" Ruce questioned before looking at the group of Pokemon. Immediately she zoomed in on Grant.

"Did you put it there!?" Ruce yelled.

"Don't be preposterous," Grant said. "So I got angry at her, you think I'd actually go as far as to plant incriminating pictures just to spite her? You even said so yesterday that I'd eventually forgive her."

"Jet!?" Ruce asked, focusing now on the blue frog.

"Feh, what reason would I do it?" he asked. "I thought I hated you all equally."

"Muffy!" Ruce exclaimed.

"Look me in the eye and say it," Muffy said, staring Ruce down. Ruce pumped her fists up, but Muffy wasn't flinching this time.

"Then who?" Ruce asked.

"Face it, your sister is lying," Grant mentioned.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Yoshi said.

"You're awfully cool about this," Grant stated. "Are you hiding something?"

"Are YOU?" Yoshi returned. "You seem very suspicious yourself."

"I have NOTHING to hide!" Grant said.

"And yet you think I would do it?" Yoshi asked. "What reason do I have? You're the only one with a motive."

"And YOU are the only one NOT jumping to conclusions!" Grant yelled. "YOU are trying to make yourself seem innocent!"

Eventually, pandemonium ensued the Artic-Uno house. Over at the Zap-Dos house, the contestants were waking up to the noise they heard. Riley was completely bugged by the yelling.

"Ugh, what did I get myself into?" he asked himself before everyone woke up.

"Ugh, what time is it now?" Aria asked aloud.

"I guess it's time to hunt breakfast," Chauncey said out loud.

Kiki and Drenig went over to the door where their hunting gear was to prepare. Chauncey decided to go over to them to ask if he could go with them.

"Can I join you in your little hunt please?" Chauncey said simply, not even with a smile.

"Why? So you can find and harass Lilly and take offense at everything I say?" Kiki asked.

"You bring it on yourself you know," Chauncey stated. "But I wanted to help the team out."

"Ow, alright man," Drenig said. But before he opened the door outside, Kiki stopped him.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," she said. "Having Chauncey with us..."

"Won't hurt," Drenig cut off. "It didn't last time."

"Oh alright," Kiki said before she let Drenig open the door.

But when they opened the bunker, they did not see a usual hallway. In fact, they saw cave walls everywhere, and a large pit dividing the other bunker with many pathways climbing alongside the pit and around the bunkers.

"What the heck's going on!?" Drenig yelled, waking the remaining contestants up.

In the bunker, the screen turned on again. You could see Bertram on it, but he seemed more frantic than normal.

"Where is everyone!?" Bertram cried. "You're not in the bunkers!"

Over at Team Artic-Uno, they stopped fighting to watch the screen. They had not opened their doors, so they were baffled by what he said.

"We're not?" Jet asked. "What do you mean, we're right inside WAH!"

Jet opened the door and saw the same thing Zap-Dos said. He scrambled backwards to the group after what he saw.

"Guys, guys! This is strange! Everything's different," he said.

Team Artic-Uno looked out the door. It made no sense to them where they were or how they got there.

"First someone frames my sister, now this!?" Ruce asked.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yoshi asked.

"I couldn't tell you if I knew," Bertram said.

"You mean this is NOT part of the challenge?" Jet asked.

"No!" Bertram said. "I don't know WHAT'S going on!"

Team Zap-Dos was watching the same TV. Aria had no doubt in her mind this was set up despite Bertram saying it wasn't.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Now that I can come back here, I have to say this challenge actually looks like it might be interesting," she said. "I'd like to know how Bertram pulled off bringing us here though. I'm sure he has his ways though."

-After Confessional-

"What does thou do then?" Dustin asked.

"You don't know how long it took just to get your signal," Bertram said. "I've been tuning the ra*** **l mor**ng try*** ** *ind **** syg***..."

Bertram was cracking up and started to become invisible until something else showed up. They could see a silhouette of a large Pokemon sitting in a chair. But not much was visible of this creature.

"Hello contestants," the mystery figure said right before you could see two glowing white eyes, each with a small blue iris. One of the eyes was bigger than the other, which made the creature even more eerie. "Mwehehehe, welcome to the prison of yours truly. I would rather not disclose my image, but you can call me Dagger Eyes. I have eyes that pierce into your very soul."

"Blah blah blah," Aria taunted.

"What a creep," Wren stated.

"You are in MY realm today," Dagger Eyes continued. "And you will stay here tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day. ...And the next day, see where I'm going?"

"We're starving!" Chauncey said.

"Yeah, man. Let us have some food," Drenig added.

"Each camp should have a nice watering hole nearby complete with fish and animals," Dagger eyes added.

"That's nice of him," Abigale at Team Artic-Uno stated.

"Can it, furfa..." Muffy started before Ruce rammed a fist right into her mouth.

"No one calls my sister that and keeps their bones intact," Ruce threatened. "NO ONE!"

"Oww! Owww! What do I do now, Yoshi?" Muffy asked.

"Try to tough it out the best you can," Yoshi said.

"She hit me pretty hard," Muffy whined.

"Well, you kind of had it coming," Yoshi stated.

"Hmmmm..." Muffy moaned.

"Now, I should warn you," Dagger Eyes began again. "Our livestock may not be as healthy as the ones back at the bunker. but they SHOULD do just fine. Have fun in MY realm. MWEHEHEHEHEHEEE!"

Dagger Eyes logged off and left the teams in a puzzled state. Kiki was especially puzzled as to what their food would be like.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Scrawny Miltanks and Remoraids for breakfast I can only assume," Kiki said.

-After Confessional-

"Well, I guess I'm ready to go hunting," Kiki said.

"Right, take care," Wren said, seeming a bit depressed. "I'll just be in here. I need time alone."

"What's eating away at his brain?" Riley asked Kiki. Wren immediately shot up when he said that.

"You are!" Wren shouted. "You're not supposed to be here! You're supposed to be on the truck home, where Stawolt wrongfully is!"

"You're STILL butt hurt over that?" Riley asked.

"You've done NOTHING this entire show, and they kept you on for two eliminations!" Wren shouted. "I tried to help you, but you REFUSE to learn about teamwork! Chew some wires, Riley." Wren was showing a lot of malice towards Kiki.

"Whatever," Riley said before looking at Kiki. "Say... Kiki? Can... Can I come too?"

"Huh? You want to help?" Kiki asked.

"Yeah... I guess so," Riley said.

"Me too!" Dustin said.

"Alright, you can all come," Kiki said. "Wren, you coming?" Wren said nothing to Kiki. "Aria, what about you?"

"I... I think I'll stay here," Aria said.

"Alright," Kiki said before her team went off to find the watering hole. This left Aria and Wren alone.

"Hey there... Uhhh Wren? Do... Do you want to talk?" Aria asked.

"I want to be left alone," Wren said.

"I know it's hard letting go of friends," Aria said. "I've had friends that moved away on me before, and I still miss them to this day. But things happen. Sometimes we have no power over fate. I know that in that truck they're keeping your friend in, he's waiting to get back home to his television to watch you. He'll be there cheering you on, hoping you win the grand prize. And some day soon, you may contact each other again. There's always hope."

"Wow," Wren started. "I've never seen this side of you."

"I guess people are used to snarky and sarcastic Aria," she replied. "Deep down, I'm not like most Malamar. I'm actually quite a decent person. If you want, I could be your friend for now, at least until the show's over and you get to see Stawolt again."

"Can we still be friends after that?" Wren asked.

"There's nothing stopping us," Aria mentioned.

"Alright. Let's be friends," Wren said with a smile.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"It really does warm my heart when I can help someone out with a pep talk," Aria said. "Wren does seem like a nice guy at that. Yeah he gets a bit moody, but don't we all at times?"

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I never knew Aria had a heart of gold," Wren said. "But now that she mentioned it, she is a Malamar, and Malamar are known for being evil minded. But to be fair, I guess that's not every Malamar in the world."

-After Confessional-

Over at Artic-Uno, everyone but Abigale, Ruce, and Yoshi were out at the water hole where they found their food choices. Wouldn't you know it? Scrawny primitive-miltank and primitive-remoraids.

"How did I know that Dagger Eyes would torture us with such paltry food options?" Muffy asked.

"Yeah... Kinda wishing we still had Bertram," Percy said.

"What are these?" Grant asked before playing in the water with his hands. "These slippery slimy fish. ...Hmmmm, they might come in handy later." Grant decided to catch a few with his hands, although they weren't that easy to catch, he managed to catch some and stash them in his coat.

"It's slim pickings for today," Percy sighed. "Maybe we should just settle."

"Stupid cave!" Lilly yelled. "Where are the berry bushes!?

"Obviously there AREN'T any," Jet stated. "Why not just eat what we're having?"

"You know I don't like the taste of mean, especially of such poor quality," Lilly challenged. "I'll just eat when we get out of here. In the meantime, I'm going back to the bunker to find a book to read."

"Ha! Whatever," Jet said in a snarky tone. He then looked at a cross Percy, who didn't seem to be happy of his attitude.

"I'd go to the confessional and talk about how much you have not changed," Percy stated. "But the point is pretty much moot since we've probably done it so much."

"Hey, I'm STILL learning," Jet stated.

Back at the bunker, Yoshi was talking to Ruce and Abigale about the page.

"I have to ask you something," Yoshi started. "The page you woke up with, you didn't go to bed with it?"

"No I didn't," Abigale said. "I don't even know how it got there."

"And something about the page doesn't even look right," Ruce mentioned. "It's torn with no regard. I've seen Abigale tear pictures out of drawing books, and she's always careful with them. It's a shame I don't have any to show you but..."

"I believe you guys," Yoshi said. "I have no doubt in my mind that someone planted it there. And I think I have a good idea who. ...But I can't prove it."

"And if I really tore the page out of the book," Abigale stated. "Wouldn't I have thrown the book on the floor next to my bed? That's if I didn't put it away nicely."

As they were talking, Lilly came in and went to the shelf to look for a book. Yoshi and the other were still talking.

"I have a nasty feeling that Grant did it," Yoshi stated. "But like I said, I have no proof. If only we could coax it out of him."

"I'll pulverize it out of him," Ruce said, pounding her fists together.

"No,' Yoshi suggested. "If you do that and you're wrong, you'll be making things worse."

"Well what can we do?" Abigale asked.

"What are you guys trying to do?" Lilly asked.

"We're just trying to prove Abigale's innocence," Yoshi said.

"I don't know how to help you," Lilly said. "Personally I don't know what to believe."

"But I didn't rip the page out," Abigale said as Lilly started reading one of the books on the shelf.

"Don't worry, I'll help you find the truth," Yoshi said.

**-Bertram's Plan-**

"Ugh, this is almost as bad as eating nothing," Riley stated as he looked over a dead primitive-miltank that Kiki just killed. Riley wanted to be away from the rest of the group, so he could talk to Kiki in private.

"Hmmmm, this will hardly do," Kiki said. "But what did you want? You didn't drag me out here just to say that."

"I guess not," Riley confessed before looking at Kiki. "What I wanted to tell you is... well... I don't know how to explain it, but... You're okay."

"Huh?" Kiki asked, dumbfounded by his response.

"Everyone else is so layed back," Riley stated. "But you're actually serious about the game. Your strength is nice for a girl, and you always do your best to kick the team into shape. You're the only person on the team I actually respect."

"Well..." Kiki started. "Your devil may care attitude needs to end. You need to stop being so selfish and start helping the team, or else you'll be gone. And flattery doesn't change that you know."

"...You're cool Kiki," Riley said.

Eventually, one of the others ran up to them. It was Dustin, and he seemed a bit frantic.

"Bertram wants us back at the bunker," he said. "Bertram found out where we are!"

"Coming," Kiki said as she followed Dustin to the bunker. Riley followed as well, but stared at Kiki the entire time.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"I'm not saying I'm in love with Kiki or anything like that," Riley stated. "Although we are compatible. ...I think... I just think she's a cool person. Is that wrong?"

-After Confessional-

Back at the bunkers, Bertram was on the screen. He seemed to be shaking with anticipation.

"Is everyone there?" Bertram asked. "Good. I found a stable connection to your location and I have a good idea where you are. You are in the underground resistance. It's a sister project of mine that I had GungHo start on, but we canned it once the zombie population went down. That's when a fella named Dagger Eyes took over. After it's abandonment, he made a station there and has been plotting to multiply the zombie population. But for now, he's still in the phase of thinking of a plan. But rumor has it he wishes to distribute drinks to Pokemon to turn them into zombies!"

"Right, and I'm sure the milk was just the beginning?" Aria asked.

"It's possible he is linked with the milk, but I cannot prove it," Bertram said.

"Can you tell us more about Dagger Eyes?" Wren asked.

"Unfortunately no," Bertram admitted. "I don't even know what species he is. ...At least I think it's a he."

"Awright man, let's just find his base of operations and destroy it," Drenig stated.

"Not that easy," Bertram said. "You're only in a slave camp. His base is hidden. I have no idea where it is."

Over at Artic-Uno, they had similar questions.

"Is there any way to find out?" Abigale asked.

"Well first you have to escape this place," Bertram said.

"But how?" Percy asked. "We don't know what we're doing."

"There's should be a way," Bertram started. "Word is, Dagger Eyes has minions, but they're all mind controlled. I think if you can de***oy the** *elm** *** can ********..."

"Not again!" Jet cried.

"Guess who prisoners," Dagger Eyes said as his image popped up on screen again. "I hope you've been having fun today, cause now it's time for a little... Game shall we say?"

"I don't play THOSE kind of games," Jet mentioned.

"Mwehehehe, I'm afraid you have no choice, you're my prisoners," Dagger Eyes reminded. "How about I escort you to a dark room where my Drowzee minions will beat you senseless. And the only way to get them to stop is to offer your alliance to ME! All start of a new world order."

Team Zap-Dos had some questions for this freak. Mainly Aria did.

"Right, and what is your motive for wanting to turn everyone into zombies?" Aria asked.

"Who said I wanted that?" Dagger Eyes asked. "That stupid beaver? Hah! Rumors they are. I just want to convert Pokemon so they can help me conquer the world."

"Thy allegiance is NOT to you hellion," Dustin stated. "Thy allegiance never will be to thee."

"Oh no?" Dagger Eyes challenged. "Medulla, come right here."

Eventually, you could see someone pop up onto the screen. It was a Hypno and he seemed to be inside a floating chair.

"All hail lord Dagger Eyes," he said in a monotone voice. "I am Medulla, and I am the controller of Dagger Eyes' minions. I am sending waves of minions at your bunkers, and you will be taken away to secured rooms where you will each be put in a strap and pulverized into conversion. All hail lord Dagger Eyes."

Immediately waves of Drowzees filled the bunkers and started to grab the players. The players of course didn't approve of these strangers coming in and trying to drag them to secluded rooms, but they had no choice: It was obvious they weren't supposed to fight them. ...Not yet anyway.

Eventually everyone was put into a room. Each room had one player and two Drowzee guards guarding. In Grant's room, he was just about ready to tell the guards how evil he was before they presented him with a helmet.

"This helmet will drain your willpower and mind force," one of the guards said. "And whatever is left of your willpower will be beat out of you."

"Not so fast!" Grant cried. "Don't you know who I am? I don't work for ANY villain! I am Grant the Dastardly, not Grant the... Dagger Eyes follower... dude... I am my OWN evil genius!"

"Put it on!" the Drowzee guard intimidated.

"No!" Grant yelled. But he didn't have a choice. The helmet was shoved onto his head against his will. "NO! GRANT THE DASTARDLY WORKS FOR NO ONE!"

"It's okay," a voice said in his helmet. It was Bertram's voice. He was talking to everyone who had put helmets on. "Turns out Wyler's an excellent spy too, I had him infiltrate the underground base just now and bug the helmets. They won't hurt your mind force or your willpower, but pretend they do to distract the guards."

"All hail Dagger Eyes," Grant said.

"That's better," the Drowzee guard said right before shackling his legs to the ceiling.

Other contestants were given the same treatment, including Kiki. But Kiki wasn't going to just stand by and take abuse. One of the guards was practicing his position right near Kiki.

"Hey, where do you think I should hit first?" the guard asked the other guard.

"Go for the head," the other one responded.

"Okay, now you're supposed to..." Bertram started before Kiki acted on her own.

"Good idea!" She yelled before she grabbed the baton out of the guards hands and immediately whacked him on the head as hard as she could. Immediately, she swung another blow at the other guard as well. Both guards played dead after she did this.

"Uhhhh... Kiki," Bertram said. "You were supposed to grab the Drowzee's scruff and grab the key out of the Drowzee's helmet."

"Wait, what!?" Kiki yelled as she saw one of the Drowzee guards had a key in their helmets.

Ruce, Jet and Muffy on team Artic-Uno had the same problem. They knocked the guards out before being told they needed to get a key. Everyone else seemed to have waited for orders. Percy, for starters, was just a big mass of muscle that it was a miracle the Drowzee's weren't intimidated by him.

"Hmmm, do you think if I hit his scull hard enough it would come off?" one of the guards asked.

"I wouldn't try it if I were you," Percy said.

"Okay, now you're supposed to grab the Drowzee's baton," Bertram told him.

"Got it," Percy said right before ripping the baton out of the Drowzee's hands.

"Now I want you to grab the chest scruff on the one on the right," Bertram added.

"No problem," Percy said, right before shooting his arm right at the Drowzee and grabbing his chest.

"Now take the key out of his helmet," Bertram finished.

Likewise, Percy did, then knocked the Drowzee guard into the other. They both played dead as Percy effortlessly pulled himself up and unshackled his legs. He then stood on his hands as he fell and righted himself before grabbing BOTH batons, one in one hand and the other in his tail. He figured he'd need them.

Over on Zap-Dos side, Drenig had some equal success.

"I'd hit the head," one of the guards said. "But the belly looks more fun to hit."

"Ay have a jaw and I aint afraid to use it!" Drenig threatened.

"I'd at least shut him up first," the other guard said. That was Drenig's cue to grab the baton with his mouth, transfer it to his arm and smash the Drowzee guard to the ground. With his jaw again, he grabbed the other Drowzee's scruff, grabbed the key out of his helmet, then knocked him out too. Being too heavy to pull himself up, he tried swinging himself to the shackles. After about a minute, he got enough height to grab his legs. He fell to the ground after unshackling his legs and managed to land on all his limbs. He decided to transfer the baton back to his jaw and crawl out of the room like his primitives would likely do.

But for the most part, everyone just followed orders. Artic-Uno freed whoever needed to be freed and they were on their way out. It wasn't any harder for Zap-Dos.

"Is everyone here?" Aria asked as the others got to the group.

"Wait, where's Kiki?" Wren asked.

"Kiki?" Riley asked before he ran off. Wren just watched him and felt a bit dumb doing so.

"That's not like Riley," Wren stated. "He's actually doing something?"

And sure enough, Riley actually rushed in to help Kiki.

"You... still in here?" Riley asked.

"That guard down there has the key," Kiki said.

"I know," Riley stated."You were supposed to grab it off of him."

"I guess I sort of had a "swing first, ask questions later" mentality going for me," Kiki admitted.

"Hmmm." Riley got the key and helped Kiki get down. "Alright, fine. But now we gotta go."

As everyone got together on both teams, they saw a big hallway filled with light. It just might be the way home. ...But it wouldn't be that easy.

"Awww, boo! That's no fun," Dagger Eyes called out. Everyone looked around and noticed there were loudspeakers all over the place. "I wanna make things fun. Let's have fun. MINIOOOOOONS!"

Eventually, more Drowzee guards poured out of the light. There were tons of them.

"Ha! No match for sir brave Dustalot!" Dustin said.

"Ay man, I got your back," Drenig said, moving out of a crouching position and transferring the baton in his mouth back to his hands.

Zap-Dos and Artic-Uno could see each others teams. Ruce was ready to lay the smackdown. Abigale was ready to serve her too.

"I think I can handle myself sister," Abigale said.

"I'll still help you," Ruce said.

Okay," Abigale accepted. She clutched her baton in both hands, as she wasn't that strong.

Yoshi and Muffy were teamed together as well. Muffy was ready for a fight.

"They don't look so tough!" Muffy yelled.

"I doubt they will be be," Yoshi yelled.

"ATTACK!" Muffy cried before rushing in.

"Get them minions," Dagger Eyes called out. Both teams charged into battle with their batons. Muffy immediately slammed a few in the head, being able to knock them out. Yoshi stood his ground, taking a defensive approach to the challenge. Ruce and Abigale tag teamed, able to take out some guards together. Jet used his athleticism to jump over the guards and strike them in the back. Percy made fighting them look easy. The guards couldn't get near him. Lilly wasn't much of a fighter, but she could still hold her own. And Grant? He had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Grant decided to lead a couple on a chase. He stood to taunt the guards as they came near.

"Stupid little pig," one of the guards said. "You have no idea the power of Dagger Eyes. All hail Dagger Eyes!"

"And you have no idea of MY powers!" Grant yelled. "Behold, twerps!"

Grant pulled out a couple of Remoraid that he fished out of the watering hole earlier and threw them at the guards feet. As you'd expect, they slipped on the fish and fell.

"Mwahahaha!" Grant laughed right before put his arms and baton behind his back and walked across their bodies, whistling the whole time.

Over at Zap-Dos, they were holding their own as well. Aria, of course, figured out a secret behind the guards.

"Come on, hit me," Aria said as a guard walked up to her and was "preparing" to swing at her skull. "What's wrong? Is this one of those old school cartoons where the villains don't act until the target either moves out of the way or counters? Oh right, this is a game show, you aren't actually supposed to..."

But the guard whacked her on the head. Aria had a soft head protected by several tenticles, but the batons were already pretty soft so it barely hurt anyway. Plus, he wasn't even trying.

"Owww, that hurt," Aria said sarcastically. "Play dead growlithe."

Just like that, the Drowzee fell over and fainted. In a way, Aria's kind of sucking the fun out of this entire show. Even Wren had to comment.

"You know, you could at least pretend this is all real," Wren suggested.

"Awww, alright," Aria agreed. "I've had my fun for now anyway."

Over with the others, Drenig and Dustin were teamed together, Kiki and Riley were teamed up together, and Chauncey was by himself. Being a Gallade, Chauncey was surprisingly fast and had some good leg flexibility. But right now, they didn't have the ravine separating the two teams, so of course Chauncey decided to go over to Lilly and fight beside her.

"Hi there. Me again," Chauncey stated before whacking an enemy coming at him. "I just thought I'd help you out."

"Maybe you should help your team instead," Lilly said sternly.

"Oh come on, give me a chance," Chauncey said.

"How about this," Lilly started. "If we BOTH make it to the merge, THEN I'll give you a chance."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"The odds of that are slim," Lilly mentioned. "They don't really like Chauncey that much, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was the next to go on that team."

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"Make it to the merge... Alright, if I must," Chauncey stated. "Lilly I shall NOT let you down."

-After Confessional-

The others had interesting fighting styles. Dustin decided to use his baton like a sword to defeat the enemies. Drenig incorporated his mouth into the mix, showing he was versatile but made sure not to actually harm the Drowzees. Kiki and Riley were both fighting with all their force, sometimes looking back at each other to see how they were doing. Riley really was improving as a team player. And after several minutes of fighting, all the Drowzee guards were knocked out. They knew it was fake, but they had fun fighting them.

"Booo! BOOOO!" Dagger Eyes cried out over the loudspeaker. "I aint kidding around now. You will have to fight ALL MY MINIONS!"

"Bring em on!" Dustin cried out.

"I'm ready for ANYTHING!" Muffy roared in excitement.

"You've only made it to the surface of the MINE!" Dagger Eyes mentioned. "Guards will be CRAWLING the place above! I do have two minions for you to fight, and they are guard captains."

Two more Drowzee guards came out of the light, and they were almost twice the size of the other guards... And almost twice the weight even. They even seemed much stronger, as if they forgot they were Drowzees. But with Dagger Eyes, he probably took their psychic powers away anyway. Aria couldn't help but roll her eyes at the two.

"Let me guess, fat=really strong belly stereotypes, right?" Aria asked. "You know that doesn't actually work."

"YAAAAAAAAH!" Muffy cried before running at one of the guard captains.

...But the guard captain put his baton in front of Muffy and stopped her from getting close. He even thrust the baton out to send her back.

"Ha! Except there's one more problem," the first guard said before flexing one of his arms.

"We're not just strong and bulky," the other started. "We're smarter than the others too." The second guard pointed at his head, probably as a way of telling def people their hidden trait.

"ALL HAIL LORD DAGGER EYES!" they shouted in unison.

All the contestants went forward to attack the guards, but one by one they were sent back. Ruce and Abigale attacked the first one, but the guard deflected their attacks and sent them both back right before snatching Abigale's baton with a free hand. Dustin and Drenig attacked the second one, but Dustin was clonked then pushed backwards. Drenig tried to bite the baton out of his arms, but the guard took Drenig for a ride and threw him back. Yoshi and Lilly ran up to the first guard, but the guard grabbed Abigale's baton and rolled it along the floor as hard as he could, rolling it straight into Lilly and Yoshi's legs, knocking them both over. Riley and Kiki tried to attack the other together and swung their batons at the head, but the guard deflected both of the batons, then dropped his own baton before grabbing Kiki and Riley's and swinging one at both of their legs. Even Percy and Jet had little luck. Jet tried to jump over the first guard, but he swung his baton upward and deflected him right before striking Percy in the face then sending some quick strikes to the gut. As for the others? Grant, Wren, Aria, and Chauncey? Too easy.

"He he he, okay I guess I spoke too soon," Aria said.

"Aim for their helmets." Eventually, another voice rang in everyone's ear. It was Bertram again. "Destroy their helmets. The two are twin brothers of each other who happen to be professional dual body-builders before Dagger took over them."

"Now that I think of it," Percy started. "I might have seen at least one of the brothers before at the gym. Maybe both."

"But they were always friendly sports before this event," Bertram said. "If you destroy their helmets, they might be able to help you."

"Bodybuilders?" Aria thought to herself. "That explains which they can swing the batons with such strenght. But it doesn't explain their skill."

"They partake in a lot of different sports on the side, including weapon sports like fencing, kendo, and of course olympic style bo-fighting. But body building's the only sport they partake in professionally. Probably because they wouldn't be able to win at those sports very often. Sure they can beat you, but you..."

"Alright, aim for the head, got it," Jet said.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Blah blah blah, too long, not listening," Jet stated. "Sometimes Bertram can be such a blithering braggart."

-After Confessional-

"Rocks!" Drenig stated. "Let's throw rocks at their heads, they won't be able to deflect those as easily."

"Good idea," Ruce called out right before the teams went with Drenig's plan.

They had to act fast as the brothers were charging in. But of course with the help of the usual sure-shots: Kiki, Muffy, Drenig, and etc, they were able to slow them down. But they were still coming.

"One more should do it," Riley told Kiki. Kiki was starting to feel a bit uneasy around Riley.

"Yeeeeaaaah, one more," Kiki said. They both shot rocks at the guards head one last time, and they could see static discharge coming off of them. Eventually, one of the guards took their helmet off and smiled.

"We're free," the second guard said. Afterward, the first guard took his helmet off.

"We... we are. I can't think by myself now," the first one said.

"Those guys, they all destroyed the helmet," the second one stated.

"Who... who are all of these guys?"

"This is Team Artic-Uno and Team Zap-Dos," Bertram said through the helmets.

"Uhhhh... Bertram... You know they can't hear you, right?" Lilly asked her helmet.

"Oh, my bad," Bertram said.

"Pleased to meet fellow body builders," Percy said, immediately going up to them. "I'm Percy, and my team mates are Jet, Ruce, Abigale, Grant, Lilly, Yoshi and Muffy."

"And I am Kiki," she said going up to the two. "My team consists of Riley, Wren, Aria, Drenig, Dustin, and Chauncey."

"Pleasure," the first one said. "I'm Bertha, and next to me is Byron, my brother."

Wren could tell Aria was gonna make a comment. He shook his head to tell her not to. Aria showed a bit of sadness in her face, but nodded anyway. She was probably going to comment on the name Bertha.

"Now that we're not slaves anymore, we can tell you how to get out," Byron stated.

"What!? No! What's going on!?" Dagger Eyes yelled through the speaker.

"We should tell you that going up there is asking for trouble," Bertha mentioned. "The guards will be swarming up there."

"Instead, there's an easier way," Byron added.

"No! No easier way!" Dagger Eyes yelled again.

"Near the watering hole," Byron started. "There's a tunnel that leads to the outside world. Just go up the cliff and you will be free."

"I hope that helps," Bertha stated.

"Maybe you guys could help us along?" Abigale suggested.

"We'd like to," Byron stated. "But we gotta free the other guards."

"We'll follow you up afterwards," Bertha stated. "Good luck guys."

Byron and Bertha started removing helmets from the other guards. The contestants could hear more chants of freedom as they started walking away. It was looking good for the contestants, but once again this was all a game.

**-This Is My Angry Face-**

In Dagger Eye's quarters, a camera was showing Medulla by himself, but Dagger Eyes was obviously in the room.

"How could this be happening!?" Dagger Eyes asked. "You're helmets are supposed to be foolproof!"

"Foolproof mind-control helmets just aren't possible," Medulla mentioned. "But don't worry, they still haven't come across Cort and Crusher yet."

"Yes, the two I trust even more than Byron and Bertha," Dagger Eyes mentioned. But let's add another twist. What if we set a BOMB atop the ravine they are climbing up. And the contestants have to be the first to deactivate it. Too bad NEITHER team will get there."

"But what if they do and who gets there first?" Medulla asked. "Then what."

"Oh I'll keep that my little secret for now," he said. "I have MANY tricks up my metaphorical sleeves, and YOU will help."

"It will be done master," Medulla said.

The contestants each climbed up their respective ravine when there was a sign up in front with some gates. There were more gates up top. The gates were designed so that only two could enter at a time.

"Okay, what's the catch?" Ruce asked.

"There are three more sets of gates," Abigale mentioned.

Lilly observed the gates and had an idea. "Maybe we have to go in at a time," she said.

"Fine, I'll go in first," Muffy said. Muffy walked up to the gate and waited for someone to join her. "Yoshi, could you..."

But before she could answer, Grant already helped himself to the gate. "Evil ALWAYS goes first," he said.

"Ugh, not this again," Muffy said, trudging through the gate.

"Errr, you guys go," Lilly said.

"What's wrong?" Yoshi asked.

"I... My leg doesn't feel good after that bar Bertha threw at my legs," she responded.

"My legs feel fine," Yoshi stated. "Maybe I should protect you."

"That... that would be good," Lilly said.

"How about me and Percy go next," Jet asked.

"Uhhh, yes. Let's go, Jet," Percy responded. You could kind of tell he wasn't fully sincere.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Why does that stupid frog insist on being my friend?" Percy asked. "It's started ever since the third episode after he almost got voted off. I think he's just trying to act like he's changed, but deep down... Oh wait I already said I didn't need the confessional to point that out, didn't I? *Sigh* I know it's been said a hundred times, but can you blame me or anyone else for wanting to say it again and again? We're only mortals after all."

-After Confessional-

"Okay, if you're alright with staying behind," Ruce said. "Then we'll go ahead."

After Abigale and Ruce went through the gates last, Lilly and Yoshi were left with each other.

Over at Team Zap-Dos, they were deciding who should go first.

"Well? Any ideas?" Aria asked.

"I think Kiki and I should go first," Riley said. "Kiki's the leader of the group."

Kiki shot a confused look to the air when Riley said that. She didn't know what to think.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Leader of the group? Me?" Kiki asked. "Why, I'm kind of flattered really. Riley actually looks up to me as a leader. Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all. Kind of glad we didn't vote him off yesterday."

-After Confessional-

"Uhhhh, sure that sounds... ummm... manageable," Kiki said.

"I think the knight boy and the greaser should go next," Aria stated. "I'm expecting there to be a challenge here and we need the strength up top."

"Makes sense," Wren said. "But maybe we need some on the bottom too."

"Good point," Aria said. "What about me and Wren going next then maybe either Dustin or Drenig going with Chauncey."

Dustin and Drenig nodded with each other. They were coming up with the plan.

"What do you think, me and Chauncey?" Dustin asked.

"Are you sure?" Drenig responded.

"I think you can hold off guards better than I can," Dustin said. "Plus, I think it might be a good idea to help Chauncey out a bit."

"Awright man," Drenig said as he nodded in agreement. This let Aria and Wren going next, then Chauncey and Dustin going next. But of course, Dagger Eyes was gonna throw another curve ball.

"Tee hee hee, time for another twist," Dagger Eyes said through loudspeakers again.

Suddenly, the gates started to beep. The contestants were starting to panic. They each got away from the gates right before the bottoms exploded. They each left huge gaps in the ravine between contestants.

"You didn't think I'd just let you leave, did you?" Dagger Eyes asked rhetorically.

"Now how are we gonna get home?" Wren asked.

"I'm sure Bertram will find a way," Aria responded.

Suddenly, some more guards came into the huge room, except these guys were Hypno. What's more, they had really long sticks, longer than the gaps in the ravine.

"Mwehehehe! Now I decided to bring out the ELITE guards," Dagger eyes cheered. "And we have their guard captains supervising them. Please welcome Cort and Crusher!"

Atop the ravine amidst the swarm of Hypno guards were two FREAKISHLY HUGE Hypno with gargantuan limbs and god-like abs. These guys would be even worse than Bertha and Byron.

"What do we do now?" Lilly asked Yoshi. Yoshi kept his baton up, trying to protect himselves.

"Wait for Bertram's orders," Yoshi responded.

"Ha! Stupid Dagger doesn't know I have access to the security cameras here," Bertram stated. "You should probably take those batons away from the guards and use them to cross the ravine."

"This seems awfully dangerous," Lilly asked. "What if we fall?"

"Don't worry, there's a net down there that will break your fall happen you do so. Cause remember this IS a gameshow," Bertram reminded.

"Right," Yoshi said before looking over at Team Zap-Dos. It looked like Drenig was ready to rumble. "Can you still fight Lilly?" Yoshi asked.

"I'll try," Lilly responded. They both brandished their batons and deflected oncoming attacks, trying to find a way to snatch the batons from the guards.

"What pitiful creatures!" Up on the top, Cort and Crusher were throwing taunts. "You think any of us are as dumb as those fat tapirs were?"

"I'd like to see ALL of you take us on," Crusher yelled.

"Aww come on Crusher, more exercise?" Cort asked.

"Come on Cort, it would be fun," Crusher responded.

"Yeah, it would be fun," Cort agreed.

"Together we ALL stand," Crusher yelled.

"ALL HAIL LORD DAGGER EYES!" they shouted in unison.

"Oh right, and did I mention I set a bomb up at the top?" Dagger asked. "Yep, tick tock tick tock and it will blow up the rest of the ravine too. You need to get seven members across to operate seven switches, but you won't make it in time."

"Just one thing after another," Yoshi said before looking back over at Drenig. Of course he was using his trusty jaw as a third arm to help grab the bars. ...How did that NOT count as using your natural abilities. ...Oh wait, it did.

"Uhhh... Drenig?" Bertram started. "You know you're breaking the rules by using your mouth, right?"

"Huh?" Drenig asked right before being knocked aside the head. He managed to recover before he fell into the net though. "Sorry bout that Bertram. I forgot no using natural weapons, and I guess my mouth counts as one."

"I'll forgive that, but just for future reference please don't," Bertram stated.

Drenig then proceeded to use the old fashioned way of doing things: out-smarting and overpowering the foe. Drenig managed to grab a stick as a Hypno guard swung it at him then he twisted his arms around to get the stick out before having a good weapon to fight the other guard with.

But Yoshi and Lilly were ahead. Lilly had deflected a baton and Yoshi found it wise to go for the baton as the guard was trying to draw back. Eventually, Yoshi managed to grab the baton and then use it to knock another guard out. A few more came, but Yoshi was able to defeat them as well. With a good amount of batons to use, Yoshi layed them out on the ravine and helped Lilly walk across them. The nice soft ends of the batons made good anchors cause they didn't roll over that much.

Up on the top of Team Artic-Uno's pathway, Muffy was a bit worried about the guards.

"I... I don't know if I can do it!" Muffy cried.

Fortunately for her, Grant had a plan. Grant still had some Rhemoraid handy from the watering hole. He threw them at the guards heads when they weren't looking and caught them off guard. Muffy was then able to grab the batons and use them to help her team mates. But still, it didn't sit entirely right with her.

"Wait, that's allowed?" Muffy asked. "Isn't that cheating?"

"Not in the rules, not against the rules," Grant responded.

Kiki didn't have much of a problem disarming the guards, she just twirled the baton she was holding and managed to rip the batons out of the guard's hands while Riley caught any batons that were in the air. And with that, they were trying to help the ones below them. Riley couldn't help but compliment her on her skills.

"I guess you trained hard at your dojo, didn't you?" Riley asked.

"Yup, that training payed off," she responded.

But Drenig was having difficulty with getting over to the other side.

"Come on Drenig," Dustin cried.

"Ay'm tryin' man!" Drenig said, deciding to crawl on the batons.

"Uhhh, heads up Dustin," Chauncey said as he pointed to some small heli-devices floating near the group. "They have TURRETS!"

The robots started shooting at Dustin and Chauncey, but fortunately they were just light plastic balls. They would sting, but they wouldn't hurt you. But the worst part? They were shooting at Drenig too.

"Oh shoot!" Drenig cried as he started to hurry up.

"We should attack the heli-bots," Dustin said. "They might deactivate if we do."

"No, ya think," Chauncey said playfully.

"I know it's obvious, but we have to try," Dustin responded.

...But the heli-bots were too far away to swing at. They needed the longer batons to do so.

Over with the other team, Team Artic-Uno was having a similar dilemma. Heli-bots were shooting at them, including Abigale and Ruce who were waiting for Lilly and Yoshi to cross the bars. Yoshi had to help Lilly along, but they both managed. Abigale was trying to swing at the Heli-Bots, but was having difficulty.

"I can't reach sis," Abigale stated. But Yoshi took the bars from before and started to swing them at the bots. The batons were long enough that he could reach the heli-bots and destroy them, stopping them from shooting at them, but there were still some over Jet and Percy. Except they weren't having any problems. Percy was big enough that he could reach the bots with just the normal baton and Jet could jump high enough to swat them out of the air. Eventually, all the heli-bots on their side were cleared.

"Ha! We make one heck of a team, huh Percy?" Jet asked.

"Uhhh yes, we do I guess," Percy responded.

At this point, Artic-Uno was on easy street. But Team Zap-Dos wasn't faring as well. Kiki and Riley made a bridge for Aria and Wren to get across, but Aria was at a point where she found it difficult to cross, especially with the heli-bots on her.

"What's wrong Aria," Wren asked. "You can do it."

"Don't you think we should get rid of these heli-bots first?" Aria asked. "And what about the other three?"

"They're coming," Wren pointed out. Sure enough, Dustin Chauncey and Drenig were all on the same platform, and had just destroyed the heli-bots. But they were far behind. Dustin and Chauncey tried their hardest to find a balance between speed and steadiness, but they just didn't have time at this point. Everyone on Artic-Uno was already on the final platform with Muffy and Grant, and they were so close to reaching the switches that would stop the so-called bomb. Right after Yoshi and Lilly crossed, seven of them went to push their switches and all the remaining heli-bots shut down and there was silence.

"Ha! We did it, we win again!" Jet said.

"That is good," Ruce said. "That means my sister will stay for one more episode."

"Not so fast Ruce," Bertram said. "No one said that challenge would decide who would go home."

"Wait, what?" Ruce asked.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Ugh, there's something even WORSE planned?" Ruce whined.

-Confessional Session(Abigale)-

"I don't want to go home just because someone is convincing the others I have a weird obsession," Abigale said. "Yes, I know we furries are often associated with such, but not me. And why does it even matter anyway?"

-After Confessional-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! YOU STUPID PRISONERS!" Dagger Eyes roared. "CORT! CRUSHER! TAKE CARE OF THEM!"

Eventually, Team Zap-Dos made it up to where the other team was. ...Right before it happened. The ground shook a short but violent rumble that sent some of the competitors to their backs. This was followed by another rumble of the same caliber. And eventually, the two teams were confronted by Cort and Crusher. These two Hypnos looked super intimidating.

"Believe it or not, these guys are twin body builders as well," Bertram stated.

"No wonder everyone looks so familiar," Percy blurted.

"Bertha and Byron are the sons of the two," Bertram added. "...Well, they're the sons of Cort. Crusher's their uncle. You get what I mean. And they're even worse than Bertha and Byron."

"I kinda figured, they're not fat," Aria stated.

"Why don't you guys all fall down right now and save us the trouble," Cort asked.

"Because we has strength, smarts, AND speed: the total package," Crusher added.

"ALL HAIL LORD DAGGER EYES!" They cried again in unison.

"Remember, throw rocks at them," Drenig said.

The two teams proceeded to do so, but this time it was ineffective. They got near the Hypno brothers heads and the rocks were immediately sent flying past the contestants. Guess the helmets didn't remove their psychic powers.

"That won't work on us," Cort stated.

"You losers are going down," Crusher said.

The two got closer to the teams and eventually the teams retaliated. But one by one they were sent backwards. Grant ran out of fish to throw so he couldn't use them on the guards, and was easily dispatched. Aria was able to bob and weave, but not for long enough. Wren and Jet tried to use their speed to their advantage, but were ultimately defeated. Even Percy and Kiki were no match for them. Eventually, the two Hypno brothers knocked both teams into the pit below, where they kept falling till they hit the net Bertram mentioned. The net eventually closed on all of them, trapping them all in the net.

"This BIIIIIIIIIITES!" Kiki yelled.

"What's going to happen to us now?" Muffy asked.

"Lilly!? Is Lilly alright?" Chaunce called out.

"Would you forget about her already!?" Riley shouted.

"Bertram? What do we do now?" Abigale asked.

"I... don't have any clue," he responded.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Lilly asked.

"Oh just roll with the punches," Aria responded.

"Wait! Chauncey and Yoshi can cut us out," Jet suggested.

"That's against the rules!" Drenig reminded.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Jet confessed.

"I think Aria's right though," Wren stated. "There's going to be something coming up soon."

"Like what?" Percy asked.

"Thy knows what could possibly come next?" Dustin asked.

"Well..." Wren started.

"I'm sure something will come up eventually," Ruce responded.

"It's no use, you are all DOOOOMED!" Grant cried. "MWAHAHAHAHA!"

"You're not helping!" Muffy yelled.

"Just sit tight, there will be something," Yoshi stated. "Maybe guards will come or we'll be hit by sleeping gas or something."

"Did someone say sleeping gas!?" Dagger Eyes called out on the loudspeakers where the nets were. "You're probably wondering how you reached my establishment in the first place. My guards infiltrated your bunkers and transfered them here after THIS HAPPENED!"

Suddenly, the area the contestants were in filled with the aforementioned sleeping gas, and the contestants were put to sleep. This whole day kept getting weirder and more and more grueling.

**-Super Hypno Bros.-**

Everyone woke up eventually. When they did, they noticed they were back in cells. They even had iron bars to go with the cells. The walls were dark, tiled and blue, but also padded. The contestants were scared.

"We're in individual cells, right?" Muffy asked. "No creepy furries in my cell, right?"

"I'm NOT PERVERTED!" Abigale cried.

"Ugh, this rumor's gone far enough!" Ruce yelled. "When I find out who planted that page, they're history!"

"What rumor? The one that your sister is a typical furfa..." Jet started.

"NO ONE CALLS MY SISTER THAT! NO ONE!" Ruce erupted. "WHEN I GET OUT OF THAT CELL, YOU'RE PULVERIZED!"

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Jet said sarcastically. "I thought we agreed that I didn't plant any pages."

"He was asleep when I woke up," Percy said. "Everyone was."

"That proves nothing!" Ruce yelled.

Over at Zap-Dos, they were starting to wonder what the commotion was about.

"What are they raving about?" Riley asked.

"Probably the same thing from before," Aria said. "Wait, where is everyone."

"Each of these cells has a hole in their walls," Wren mentioned. "We can talk to each other and pass stuff around."

"That's a good idea Wren," Aria stated. "But what do we have to pass around?"

"Never mind that, I heard something," Chauncey stated.

"Someone's coming," Dustin stated.

Eventually, a bunch of figures came into the jail hallway. The contestants in the middle jail cells could see two big Drowzee coming in: Bertha and Byron to be exact, and behind them were two BIGGER Hypno: Cort and Crusher. Cort and Crusher had Bertha and Byron's arms pinned behind their backs as they came in, meaning they were being jailed just like the contestants. A couple of Hypno Guards followed Cort and Crusher in.

"Hey, this side doesn't have an open cell," Crusher mentioned.

"Guess you'll just have to lump Byron in with one of the other prisoners," Cort mentioned.

"How about I take the little one and stick her in the cell next to her, then lock him in the free cell?" Crusher asked.

"Good idea, that pipsqueak is too weak to do anything," Cort said.

Crusher then shoved Byron into Abigale's cell and then proceeded to take Abigale out and put her in the next cell over, with Muffy. That wasn't gonna go well.

"ACK! No! Keep her away from me!" Muffy yelled.

Crusher laughed as he stuffed Abigale in with her.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"At that point I was thinking about what sick things will that little furry do to me," Muffy stated. "But then I remembered there's nothing she can do, I'll just beat her back if she tries it."

-After Confessional-

Eventually Cort and Crusher left the room and left behind the two guards to protect the cells.

"Well... I guess we couldn't evade Dagger Eyes for long," Bertha stated.

"I wish we had our father back," Byron stated.

"Don't forget Uncle Crusher," Abigale stated.

"Huh? You already know?" Byron asked.

"Bertram told us," Aria stated.

"Who's he?" Bertha asked.

"He's been helping us along," Lilly stated. "But I'm not sure he has a plan for us now."

"Yeah, it's a shame there isn't much he can do now," Bryon said.

Eventually, the Drowzee brothers started to go to the walls of the cells and stuck their hand through the nearest cell. In their hands were a piece of paper and some rocks. The paper said "Throw the rocks at the guards, like you did to us. Pass the rocks around and act casual about it."

"But I'm sure he'll think of SOMETHING," Chauncey stated.

"Yeah, Bertram won't leave us in the dark," Drenig said upon receiving some of the rocks. He passed a few over to the next cell.

"I already said it, you are all doomed!" Grant said before receiving some rocks as well.

"As are you, idiot!" Muffy cried.

"Guess there's not much left to do," Yoshi said upon receiving the last few rocks. He then went to his cell and started throwing rocks at the guards. Over on the other side, Kiki and Riley were doing so as well. Eventually, they managed to hit the Hypno guards on the heads. ...But it didn't just destroy their helmets, it knocked them out.

"Okay, now what?" Lilly asked.

"They each have a key," Bertha mentioned. "And fortunately we stuffed wires in our pants before we got here."

"Wait, I don't remember you wearing pants," Wren stated.

"You know that pattern we have on the lower half of our body," Byron asked. "Well we are just wearing some brown pants that look like our patterns."

"We put them on before we came here so we could hide stuff," Bertha added. "Pass the wires to the person closest to the guard."

"Got it," Abigale said as she passed he wires through.

"Eww, furry germs," Grant said before he brought the wire through the wall to the next person.

Eventually Yoshi and Kiki got the wires and dragged the wires through the gate to get the key. They both hooked the wires for easier grabbing. Eventually both teams got the keys, but before they could use them, the brothers stopped them.

"Wait!" Bertha stated. "You better use that key wisely."

"What do you mean wisely?" Kiki asked.

"The keys are only useable on one gate," Byron stated. "A guard has to recharge the key before it can be used again."

"What kind of key does that!?" Aria shouted.

"It's probably for when they have groups of escapees and it stops them from escaping all at once," Bertha mentioned.

"Fair enough," Aria admitted.

"Fortunately, we are guards," Byron mentioned. "Well ex-guards, but we can still reactivate the keys."

"Good, why don't we do that all at a time?" Ruce asked.

"Because it takes a good ten minutes to do so," Bertha added.

"So choose wisely," Byron stated. "One of you is going to have to go ahead and scout."

"Maybe we should let ourselves out first," Bertha stated. "Just so there aren't any empty cells that cannot be passed to."

After a good few minutes, the brothers were free and managed to recharge the keys for the next person.

"So... Who goes first?" Byron asked.

"I nominate myself," Percy blurted out. He wanted to stop Jet from doing so.

"No offense, but you're not very stealthy," Lilly mentioned.

"I'm stealthy enough," Percy added. "Besides, I'll probably need to entice some guards."

Over at Zap-Dos, Riley was the first to speak up. Gee, I wonder what he'd have to say.

"I nominate Kiki," Riley said. "She's the strongest member on our team."

"When did YOU start becoming a suck-up?" Wren asked.

"I'm not sucking up, I am just stating the truth," Riley said. Dustin and Drenig had a few questions concerning both of them.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Wren is kind of right though," Dustin stated. "Riley's been acting weird ever since yesterday. But at the same time at least he's actually helping the team."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"What's up with that Raichu kid?" Drenig asked. "He used to be a nice guy until Stawolt got kicked off, now he's being a jerk to people. I understand you're upset man, but you really need to let it go."

-After Confessional-

"I suppose I will go ahead," Kiki said, taking the key from Bertha and using it on her door.

Eventually, the two were outside their cells. They walked slowly to the exit before they said one last thing.

"Oh, by the way," Bertha stopped "A suspicious looking Vigoroth left some really useful weapons for you."

"There are two hallways," Byron added. "Team Zap-Dos goes left and team Artic-Uno should go right."

"Got it," Kiki said before they headed off.

Percy went through his hallway and there was a big rack filled with batons. All kinds of batons including one handed batons, long batons like the ones in the last challenge, the normal ones, long two-handed ones, tonfa shaped batons and even flails. Percy picked up a long two-sided baton and went on.

...But over at Kiki's, her weapon selection was a little smaller. She only had normal batons.

"Gee, thanks Wyler," Kiki said before heading off.

Eventually the two got to the end of the hallway where they found themselves in a small arena. There were spectators all around the area, but inside the arena with them were the Hypno brothers. Cort on Kiki's side, Crusher on Percy's side. And what's more, each arena was surrounded by a pit.

"So... you escaped," Cort said, wielding one of the long batons. "You stupid little bird-brained sissy!"

"Cluck you!" Kiki blurted out.

"You do realize you stepped into a trap, right?" Cort asked.

"Huh? Well I must have if you're here," Kiki said.

Over by Percy, Crusher was setting more rules.

"The fans want a show, so I'm glad you came.

"I don't care who you think you are, but your cousins want me to smash that helmet," Percy said.

"Cousins? What cousins?" Crusher asked. "All I have is my brother Cort and LORD DAGGER EYES! Who is watching both fights in private." Crusher then pointed to a big screen to Percy's left. The same screen was also on Kiki's right. They could just for a moment see each other on the screen. Until the screen showed Dagger Eyes instead.

"Ha ha ha! Smash them into the pit Cort and Crusher!" Dagger Eyes shouted. "They will never leave alive!"

And back at the cells, there were TVs showing outside the cell. Everyone could just get a glimpse of the action.

"So Kiki has to beat him?" Drenig asked.

"She can do it, right?" Dustin asked.

"Come on Percy!" Jet yelled.

Eventually, the fights started and Kiki and Percy began to fight the Hypno brothers. Kiki started out by taking a defensive position. She managed to deflect Cort's first attack and tried to counter with a strike to the gut, but Cort countered that too then managed to grab Kiki's baton afterward. With both batons, Cort swung both in a sandwich slice and hit Kiki from both sides before striking her hard to the side. He got Kiki close to the edge and there wasn't much Kiki could do about it. ...Except try to flee. But that wasn't Kiki's style, so Cort was able to overpower her and send her into the pit.

"No!" Riley shouted as he watched Kiki lose effortlessly to Cort.

"I got the key ready for one more," Bertha stated. "Who is gonna go?"

While they were deciding who to send next, Percy was fighting Crusher. Percy tried the opposite method of trying to overpower Crusher. An unwise move as Percy rushed forward to attack, Crusher stepped out of the way and used his own momentum against him. As Percy tried to stop himself after messing up, Crusher slammed his baton into Percy's back, and then kept attacking him. Percy did manage to get a one up by swinging his baton into Crusher's head. But one blow wasn't enough to destroy the helmet. Percy tried to finish him off, but his blow was easily deflected and countered. Crusher then struck Percy's gut with lots of force that was enough to send him to the edge. With one final strike, Crusher sent Percy into the pit. Percy had failed too.

"You got the key recharged?" Jet asked. "I'll go and avenge his death."

"Yeah, it's done," Byron stated before passing the key.

"If strength doesn't work, maybe speed will," Jet said before taking the key from Byron, using it and rushing off to help Percy.

Over at Zap-Dos, they were still making decisions.

"Maybe I should go next," Riley stated.

"Hello!?" Drenig blurted. "Dustin's a knight. He actually has experience wielding weapons."

"Are you joking!?" Aria cried.

"He's just a L.A.R. P. er, he can't actually fight," Wren stated.

"Thy cannot fight?" Dustin asked. "You'd be surprised how intense L.A.R. P. fights can be. They're not real, but they mimic a real sword fight better than you'd think. Send this brave knight out, and he shall NOT let you down."

"I think you can trust him," Drenig stated.

"Well..." Chauncey thought. "I guess it's worth a try. I mean, I actually don't have any experience with a sword, despite being a Gallade."

Dustin was given the key to his cell and opened it up happily. He then rushed out of the sell with his fist in the air.

"ONWARD TO VICTORY!" he shouted after he left the jail room.

Jet was next to face Crusher. Jet used his usual tactics of jumping around to evade attacks and try to look for an opening. But Crusher was having none of that. Crusher swung his baton where Jet was landing after a hop and brushed him aside with force. Jet tried to get away after recovering, Crusher smacked him again. Being such a light-footed creature, Jet was effortlessly smacked into the pit. His so-called abilities were put to doubt right now.

"Not loudmouth too," Lilly said.

"Yoshi, you're a samurai, right?" Muffy asked.

"Umm, no, not actually," Yoshi stated.

"I suppose I could go next," Muffy stated. "I need to prove myself anyway."

Muffy was given the key to her cell and she was next up.

Meanwhile, Dustin had one of the batons. But Dustin did something unexpected. He took off one of the ends of the batons so it could easier be used like a sword. Hey, no rule against it.

Dustin entered the arena and shot Cort a look dead in the face. Dustin was trying to act serious.

"Thy shall destroy you in the name of my kingdom," Dustin stated. "FOR ZAP-DOS!"

Cort immediately rushed at Dustin and gave a huge swing of the baton. But Dustin wasn't an idiot. He not only stepped out of the way, but he held sword out to deflect Cort's attack, sending Cort closer to the edge than he was. Dustin was about ready to swing again, but he was quickly trusted in the stomach by Cort. And eventually, they became neck-and-long neck.

Meanwhile, Muffy was trying her hardest to fight Crusher. She tried to find a balance between Kiki and Percy's method by using both attack AND defense. She managed to deflect Crusher's first attack and counter with a blow to the gut, but Crusher retaliated by attacking Muffy's head. This gave Crusher some more opportunities to attack. This phased Muffy greatly. She tried to counter Crusher's attacks, but Crusher eventually managed to overpower her and send her into the pit.

Back with Dustin and Cort, Dustin was putting on a pretty good show. But would it be enough. Dustin charged forward and swung at Cort. Cort deflected as Dustin expected, so Dustin ducked out of the way of a counter-attack and went to his back where he quickly swung at Cort's leg, and then jabbed him in the back, sending him over to the edge. Dustin went in for the final shot when suddenly he saw Cort turn around and swing his baton with all his might. However, Dustin managed to stop before running into the swing. He then charged back forward as the swing had passed and thrust his baton right into Cort's chest. And before anyone knew it, Cort fell into the pit. ...Dustin had won!

"Get out," Aria said to herself.

"Ha! I told ya he had the stuff!" Drenig exclaimed.

But Cort was climbing out of the pit right after throwing Kiki up. After his body was almost out, he pulled something out of the scruff of his neck. It was a big control switch. He pressed it and then... the spectators stiffened up. All of them, on both sides. They then started to take their helmets off and throw them to the arena.

"We're free!" one of the spectators cried.

"All of us are free!" another one added. Dagger eyes was watching and he was furious.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he roared. "BOO! BOO! BOO! BOO! BOO! MY MINIONS ARE ALL FREE!"

In addition to freeing the minions, he also freed the teams. They all went out to meet with Dustin and Cort. ...And included in the mix was a rather touching moment with Bertha and Cort.

"...Dad?" Bertha asked. "You... You're free, right."

"Bertha?" Cort asked as he looked up and saw his son in the distance. Bertha ran up to him with a big smile on his face.

"I can't believe we're finally free," Bertha said.

"It's all thanks to this brave Watchog," Cort mentioned. "If he hadn't thrown me in the pit, I'd never hit my head against the wall, and my helmet would still be functional."

"I bet your other son and your brother would be proud too," Bertha said.

"We should probably return the favor," Cort said before looking at Team Zap-Dos. "Well done Team Zap-Dos. You have helped us all. On my side is the way back to your bunkers. It's time you finally returned."

"Thank you," Dustin said before kneeling before Cort. Cort then went over to open the door back to Quarantine.

"Farewell brave warriors," Cort said. "And good luck back at Quarantine."

Team Zap-Dos happily marched out the door of the arena back to their home away from home. Team Artic-Uno was let out too, but not with the praise and applause that Zap-Dos got. But before they left entirely, Dagger Eyes yelled one last thing.

"NOOOOOOOOO! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" He cried. "DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER YOU WHELPS! I WILL FIND A WAY TO DESTROY YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL! WE WILL MEET AGAIN!"

**-The Weakest Link-**

Even though Bertram said there was no challenge, the Zap-Dos team came back to their bunkers to find a giant roast ham on their table. There was even some seasoned potatoes on the plate: enough to go around. Finally, a big bowl of soda for a beverage. It even came with plastic wine-glasses.

"To the victor go the spoils!" Dustin said proudly.

"But that was amazing Dustin," Kiki stated. "I never would have thought you'd been that good."

"When we L.A.R. P. ers sword fight, we treat it as a real fight," Dustin stated. "Eventually, we started partaking in some wicked sword fights that mimic an art form. You guys might want to come to my next convention if you wish."

"You have proven yourself to be not completely useless," Riley said.

"Have I know?" Dustin asked.

"Ya proved yourself today that's for sure friend," Drenig stated.

"Hmmmmm..." Wren said to himself while shaking his head at Riley. He still didn't like him, even if he was proving to himself he could be a team player.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Maybe my team's not so bad after all," Riley stated. "Kiki is a well-trained athlete in martial arts. Then we got Dustin who's an expert sword-fighter, we got Wren who may be an unlikable brat, but he does have speed and endurance. Drenig's slow and not very athletic, but does have a pretty good throwing arm. Chauncey's obsessed, but does have heart and flexibility, and Aria... Is Aria actually good at anything besides being sarcastic? She can cook, but when's that going to prove useful in a challenge again. I can't help but wonder if she isn't just a pariah in calamari."

-After Confessional-

Artic-Uno found bowls of rice at their camp and some water. It wasn't as luxurious of a meal as Zap-Dos had, but hey it was food.

"I kind of feel sorry for the fact that you probably haven't had a decent meal yet today," Bertram said on the bunker screen. "So I provided a little consolation meal for you. It's not much, but I hope you appreciate it. I even took the liberty of putting ice in the water."

"Thank you Bertram," Lilly said right before he logged off. And the the matter at hand came.

"Stupid frog," Ruce blurted out.

"Ahem, pardon?" Jet asked.

"I know you framed my sister with that page you worthless coward," Ruce said. "And your attitude has hardly been getting better."

"I'm sorry you don't approve of me Ruce," Jet started. "But I did not plant that stupid page there. And further more..."

"Muffy, pin him down!" Ruce yelled.

"Fight your own battle," was Muffy's response. This was not sitting right with Ruce, as she knew Muffy wasn't on her side.

"I have a gut feeling you're lying," Ruce said. "Between you and Grant, I know one of you did it!"

"Prove it," Grant and Jet said in unison.

"Prove she didn't have the page before she went to bed," Jet asked.

"Because I saw her!" Ruce yelled. "She didn't have it!"

"Your word isn't proof," Jet responded.

"WHATEVER!" Ruce erupted. "Your attitude is still a nuisance."

"But you're forgetting one thing Ruce," Jet started. "I am the team's main speedster, as well as the gymnist. Good luck winning athletic events without me. Now your sister, what is she good at exactly. I mean no offense, but she's hardly an asset to the team."

"Shut up!" Ruce yelled."I have my sister backing me up here for sure. And I know I have other people following me."

Grant eventually went towards Abigale and smiled. He was trying to act friendly to her.

"Uhhh, hi?" Abigale said, not trusting Grant.

"Don't worry little furball," Grant said. "Jet will get my vote. After all, we're friends right?"

"I... I don't know," Abigale said.

"Trust me," Grant stated.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

Grant didn't say a word in his confessional. He just slowly ran his thumb across his neck and made a slicing noise with his mouth. This was a sign that showed the viewers that Grant was lying about what he said to Abigale.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"As much as it pains me to say it," Percy started. "Jet does have a point. Abigale really hasn't done anything this entire show that's actually noteworthy. Maybe she just doesn't have what it takes. ...Sorry Ruce."

-After Confessional-

Eventually the team wound up back around the Quarantine chamber where the next elimination took place. Bertram was up there and he seemed a bit sweaty from what happened today.

"Well... What a day," Bertram said. "You survived your first encounter with Dagger Eyes, but one of you will not survive elimination."

"Just get on with it," Jet said.

Bertram slammed his cane into the ground and immediately a bolt of lightning came down right in front of Jet. Jet jumped back, startled by the sudden lightning attack.

"I decide when I get on with it you worthless slug!" Bertram yelled. "Now... I will get on with it. These people are safe for now. Yoshi! Lilly! Percy! Muffy! Ruce! Grant! You are all safe." Bertram then looked at Abigale and Jet. Abigale was shivering. You could even see her fear as her suit was zipped down, revealing her face. Jet on the other hand was cool as a cucumber: quite an upgrade from the first time he was on the chopping block.

"Jet... Welcome back to Limbo," Bertram said. "Are you scared?"

"Why, should I be?" Jet asked.

"This is your second time on the bottom," Bertram mentioned. "You SHOULD be scared. It's obvious your team doesn't like you."

"You're right, I SHOULD be scared," Jet stated. "But my team still needs me."

"I bet they need Abigale even more," Bertram said, shifting his focus to Abigale. She was too scared to say anything. And Ruce, she had her fist curled up right now. She was also giving a really nasty glare at Jet. "And the final Pokemon staying for now is..."

As the suspension grew, Abigale's fear became worse and worse, Ruce's anger at Jet grew, and Jet stayed chilled.

"The final Pokemon staying is...

...

...

...

...

...

...Jet."

"Ha! Well duh!" Jet blurted out. "Why do you think I was so confident?"

"Oh you shut your mouth!" Ruce yelled. "It's obvious you're still the same stuck up brat you were before, so you might as well drop the act, because YOU are the next person who will be leaving!"

"Sister..." Abigale started. "You... You don't have to be angry," she said.

"What!? He got you kicked out!" Ruce yelled.

"He may, he may not have," Abigale stated. "But one of us had to go eventually. ...I wish I could stay with you longer sis, but... but..." Abigale started to cry right before she ran up to Ruce and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't more help to the team."

"Don't worry," Ruce said. "Whoever did plant that page, whether it was Jet or someone else, I will see that they don't get away with what they did."

"Good luck sister," Abigale stated before she was tugged on by Bertram.

"Right, right. Chop chop already, Artic-Uno needs their beauty rest soon," Bertram stated.

"Bye Ruce," Abigale said before she walked over and into the Quarantine chamber. She kept her suit zipped down to show she was sad about leaving, but at the same time she did not pout to show she was more mature than Pudge was. The gas filled the tank, and before you knew it Abigale was gone."

"What a sweet little Marill," Bertram complimented. "It's a shame to see such a mature little creature go so soon."

Eventually, the team left the area. Jet felt the need to talk to Ruce about what happened.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I got a little unlikeable just then," he started. "But you kinda brought it on yourself with your accusations."

"Don't talk to me!" Ruce roared before she ran off to the bunker. She wanted nothing left to do with Jet.

Back at the top, Bertram was looking on. He couldn't help but laugh inside.

"Hmph, in fact she was more mature than her older guardian," Bertram stated. "Amazing how each contestant is evolving in this game as one-by-one they disappear. Fourteen are left, and tomorrow it will be *ahem* a very unlucky number. Until next time, we say goodbye for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Phase one COMPLETED!"_

_Contestants are asked to beautify their bunker with a makeover._

_"Awww, an home-deco challenge! That sounds boring!"_

_...And to install a brand new cannon defense system._

_"Boy howdy! That's more like it!"_

_Afterwards, two contestants must enter the enemy bunkers and retrieve master plans._

_"Each bunker has a new trapdoor installed to the defense system. You can use them to escape."_

_But upon their escape, they could be shot down by friend and/or foe._

_"Oh no, I hit her!"_

_All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Renovation Revelation._


	6. Chapter 6: Renovation Revelation

Chapter 6: Renovation Revelation

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"What the heck's going on!?"_

_Contestants found themselves in the wrong bunkers deep below the earth in Dagger Eye's lair._

_"Mwehehehe, welcome to the prison of yours truly."_

_Contestants went through one day of ruin before making their escape..._

_"Uhhhh... Kiki, you were supposed to grab the Drowzee's scruff and grab the key out of the Drowzee's helmet."_

_...by first freeing the guard captains..._

_"I can't think by myself now."_

_...and then scaling a dangerous ravine..._

_"Uhhh... Drenig? You know you're breaking the rules by using your mouth, right?"_

_...then escaping from prison..._

_"They each have a key, and fortunately we stuffed wires in our pants before we got here."_

_...and finally beating Cort at his own game._

_"To the victor go the spoils!"_

_Team Zap-Dos came out on top, and Team Artic-Uno sent Ruce's sister Abigale and her absolutely adorable costume home for a suspicious page AND being the weakest member of their team._

_"I'm sorry I wasn't more help to the team."_

_Fourteen players remain. But the prize is still up for grabs. Who will claim it in the end? Only time will tell._

**-What's With The Drab Colors?-**

The contestants were doing their usual hunting routine. Grant of course stayed in the bunker to work on his coconut robot. Ruce was keeping an eye on him. She still had suspicions of him, but kept suspicions on Jet too.

"Hmmmm... last I checked, I needed some moveable support," he said. "I have the power source, I have all the wires and boards and what-have-you. I just need some support."

"Why did you plant the page?" Ruce blurted out.

"Ruce, we've been through this already, I didn't plant the stupid page," Grant pleaded.

"Really... So you don't have any guilt haunting you?" Ruce asked.

"What do I have to be guilty about?" Grant asked.

"I know you're not a real evil person," Ruce stated. "Did you cause my sister's elimination yesterday, that incident will haunt you into confession."

"I'm still not ruling out Yoshi," Grant said. "He tries to act all innocent and other, but he could very well be hiding something. You have no idea what motives any of us could have had."

"...True," Ruce thought for a moment.

"While we're on the subject, are you SURE you didn't see anyone plant a page? Are you sure you didn't see her go to bed with the page. Or even wake up in the middle of the night maybe looking for a cheap thrill?"

"That's not how my sister acts," Ruce said. "I've never met a more clean person than her."

"Of course, she's your sister, and sisters care for each other," Grant said. "But... I suppose she was a pretty nice girl. And now that I have no reason left to act evil, I suppose I can say... she really was clean. She's probably the nicest person on the show. But that page... it still baffles me."

"So you're absolutely sure you didn't do it," Ruce repeated.

"I'm sure," Grant said. "I'm sorry your sister had to be eliminated. If you wish, I can help you find out who did it."

"That... that would be nice," Ruce said. "You know, you can be a pretty cool guy when you want to be."

"Thanks," Grant cheered. "I try. ...But can I still act evil just for kicks?"

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Maybe I was wrong about him," Ruce said. "I know how he tried to act all evil and what not, but deep down he's a pretty good person. I do hope he can help with finding the one who planted the page."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Phase one COMPLETED!" Grant said. "And... as the great Julio Shazar once said: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I earn her trust and the trust of everyone else, then I get her alone for a moment, then I tell her the gruuuuesome details. Right before the others are in earshot: Ruce explodes, people think she's crazy, boom! Bye bye bunny. Phase two initiated. ...Oops, I forgot to say: Spoiler alert."

-After Confessional-

Over in the hunting grounds it was typical business as usual. Percy and Jet were hunting for game and Muffy was helping too. But Lilly wasn't picking berries by herself. She had Yoshi help her.

"Thanks for coming with me," Lilly said. "I guess I have felt... kind of alone picking berries by myself."

"It's not a problem for me," Yoshi said. "By the way, how's your leg."

"It's gotten better, thanks Yoshi," Lilly said.

"I... didn't even do much," Yoshi admitted.

"But it was nice of you to care," Lilly said. "And what's more is that you did it out of righteousness and not lust. ...Like that stupid Gallade who keeps following me around."

Speaking of stupid Gallade, Chauncey was actually approaching the fence just as usual.

"I got you some more Pecha berries," Chauncey said.

"Ummm... thanks," Lilly replied before taking the Pecha berries.

"It's my pleasure Lilly," Chauncey said before looking at Yoshi. "Ummm... hello? What are you doing?"

"We were just taking a walk together," Yoshi stated.

"That's something I would like to do with Lilly once we get to the merge," Chauncey stated.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Lilly said before turning back to Yoshi. "You know any good places for berries."

"Now that you mention it," Yoshi stated. "There's a big Watmel berry vine a long ways from here."

"I could get you a Watmel berry," Chauncey blurted.

"You are not going to launch a big Watmel berry over the fence," Lilly responded.

"That's no good?" Chauncey asked. "What about Cheri berries? I could get you some Pinap berries at the beach, but it'd be a long ways from here. But I'll go the extra mile just for you Lilly."

"Hmmmm..." Lilly thought for a moment. It would be a good opportunity to get rid of Chauncey for now. "I really could go for a Pinap berry," she said. "Why don't you get me one of those?"

"Right away!" Chauncey cried before running off. Eventually, he was out of sight.

"Good... he's gone," Lilly said before returning to Yoshi. "Now... About the Watmel berry bush you mentioned."

"Yes, the Watmel berry bush is over here," Yoshi said. "Come this way."

Yoshi lead her to a place with a big Watmel berry tree away from the fence. Chauncey eventually came back carrying Pinap berries, but Lilly was nowhere to be found.

"Lilly?" Chauncey called out. "Lilly!? ...I guess she's not here. I'll give them to her later then."

Eventually the campers came all the way back to their bunkers for breakfast. Back at the bunkers, a certain Krookodile was thinking about his food again. Dustin watched as Drenig hesitated to eat his food.

"You aint going through that again, are you buddy?" Dustin asked.

"No," Drenig said. "I guess I'm just... not hungry."

"You're lying," Aria mentioned. "You still have guilt caused by killing your food."

"I thought we agreed that was natural though," Wren said.

"You're starting to become a pansy, you know that?" Kiki stated.

"Okay then," Drenig started. "Pretend that Emboar you're eating right now is a Zigzagoon." Drenig was utilizing one of Kiki's favorite animals to prove a point. Kiki started to look at her plate with a bit of sadness in her eyes.

"Toothy..." she muttered when staring at her food.

"Now who's the pansy?" Drenig asked.

"You uh... said "toothy," Riley pointed out. "Does that word mean something to you?"

"He... back at the dojo there's a friend of mine named Toothy," Kiki said. "He's a brown-belt in judo, and also a student of mine. But more than that, he's my best friend."

"Brown belt... that's right before black belt, right?" Wren asked.

"Yes, right before it," Kiki stated.

"What if your best friend was a Pignite?" Drenig asked rhetorically.

"I... I..." Kiki was at a loss for words.

"You see? Having sympathy for food isn't anything new, it's something a lot of us have," Drenig stated.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"I have friends too," Drenig stated. "Yes, friends other than Dustin. Friends I hold even closer to than Dustin. Yeah, we're best buds and all, but I've never had to help him through hard times like some of my others. That Dustin kid's tough actually."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Chauncey came to the door, balancing Pinap berries in his arms. He then set them down on the ground in the corner.

"You guys can have some if you want," Chauncey said. "But please leave one for Lilly."

"Okay," Kiki said with a smile before turning to the rest of the group at the table. "Eat every last one," she whispered.

In a matter of seconds, Bertram appeared on the screen in both of the bunkers. It seemed like it was time for the day's challenge.

"Boring..." Bertram blurted out. "These bunkers, they're boring!"

"I couldn't agree more," Aria stated. "Nothing but drab grey inside, and it looks like a Beedril's thorax outside."

"Well now I think it's time for a change," Bertram said. "Today you will be given the chance to renovate your bunker."

Over at the Artic-Uno bunker, things were a bit... iffy so to speak.

"Awww, an home-deco challenge!," Jet whined. "That sounds boring!"

"Evil does not decorate," Grant blurted out.

"You will be giving the bunker a new paint job, some new decorations like plants and shrubs..."

"Does that include berry trees?" Lilly asked.

"Yes that includes berry trees I suppose," Bertram stated. "In addition, you will ALSO be installing some cannons at the top of the bunker for your new bunker defense system."

"Boy howdy! That's more like it!" Jet exclaimed.

"Yeah, like that idea?" Bertram asked.

"If it gives me a chance to be evil, then I like it," Grant said. "Will we be hurling poisonous gas bombs or atomic grenades."

"..." Bertram said nothing. He just stared at Grant for his stupid comment.

"Oh, I got it," Bertram said. "Molotov coconuts!"

"How exactly did you get coconuts?" Lilly asked. "I've never even heard of such a thing and I've always kind of wondered what they were."

"Uhhhh..." Bertram stuttered. "You know how sometimes humans appear in the world in the form of Pokemon? Maybe one brought a coconut tree from his world or something? That's the only explination I can come up with."

"Actually I've never heard of them either," Grant stated. "I just cracked one open one day and found the nectar inside tasted sweet. Then I collected a bunch."

"But no, we're not putting anything dangerous in the cannons," Bertram stated. "Just dodge-balls."

"Dodge-balls!?" Grant cried. "Where's the fun in that?"

"THE FACT THAT NO ONE GETS SERIOUSLY HURT IS FUN!" Bertram yelled. "NOW SHUT UP!"

"No one tells me to shut up!" Grant challenged.

Muffy had had enough of Grant right now. She ran up to Grant and started to grind her thumb into Grant's head, giving him her best noogie."

"Why don't **I **shut you up!" Muffy yelled, seriously grating that fist into his head.

"Ow! Oww! Evil still feels pain you know!" Grant cried. Eventually Muffy felt he had enough and let him go, but now he probably knew better than to shoot his mouth off.

"Thank you Muffy," Bertram complimented. "Now, Gungho and some other dudes will be providing you with everything necessary to make your renovations."

"Who's in charge of helping us with the cannons?" Jet asked.

"We will be having military expert Stronghold and his veteran buddies help," Bertram said. "Please welcome Stronghold."

Just then a great Bastiodon appeared on the screen. Everyone was a bit shakey upon first seeing him. After all... he's a Bastiodon. They're not exactly known for their dashing good looks."

"AteeenTION!" Stronghold shouted. "Bertram called me here to whip you maggots into top fighter shape! Now I'll have you..."

"You're an army vessel constructor, not a drill sergeant," Bertram said.

"So? I can still talk like one," Stronghold said. "Besides, we vessel constructors don't have a preferred way of speaking."

"Just talk how you normally do when building cannons," Bertram said.

"Bertram said you need help with cannons, and so I shall!" Stronghold shouted. "This challenge starts now, so lets MOOOOOOOOOOVE OUT!"

Bertram stared at Stronghold. He had told him to act like how he did at work, but he was still acting like a drill sergeant.

"That's how I talk at work, okay?" Stronghold stated. "You have a problem?"

Eventually the teams got up and went outside. There they would begin their challenge.

**-It's De Lovely-**

And so the renovations began. Team Zap-Dos was deciding what their theme was going to be.

"Uhhh... any ideas on what we want it to look like?" Kiki asked.

"Ooh, how about a music chart?" Chauncey asked.

"Huh, not a bad idea," Aria complimented. "Does it have to do with Lilly?"

"No, I just like music," Chauncey replied.

"Eeeeh, we're building a defense bunker, Kiki stated. "Why would we draw a big music sheet on our walls."

"Ugh, there you go again, Kiki," Chauncey scolded.

"Let the flames begin!" Aria proclaimed.

"I just criticized the idea, I wasn't making a personal attack," Kiki yelled.

"You've been a thorn on my side ever since I confessed love towards a true beloved across the tactical fence!" Chauncey yelled.

"Oh good grief," Kiki moaned.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Chauncey's been a pariah to this group the entire competition," Kiki said. "He has a hard time working as a team even though he's always swearing he'll help the team out just so we don't vote him off. He spends more time staring ga-ga at an opponent, and now he takes offense any time I say ANYTHING!? The sooner we get rid of him, the better off we'll be!"

-After Confessional-

"Thy doubts he might suggest," Dustin started. "Why don't we build a castle?"

"More grey?" Aria asked. "Come on."

"It doesn't have to be," Dustin said. "We can add as many wicked flags as we want. We even have the fabric to do so."

"Oh, that sounds lovely," Aria said. "I do like working with fabric."

"And we can even add some awesome sculptures too," Dustin said.

"Wow, you must be a good landscape expert," Aria said.

"Huh? No, I just like castles," Dustin stated.

"I can relate, castles are cool," Wren said. "Hey Aria, you ever been to a castle before?"

"No," Aria responded. "But there's a first for everything."

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"I've seen castles all over the world," Dustin started. So I know quite a bit about castles, and with this challenge I want to combine many different ideas from different castles. If only we could add a moat..."

-After Confessional-

Over at Artic-Uno, Jet was throwing out all his stupid ideas. Ruce was staring angrily at him the entire time.

"Come on! Why wouldn't a sports theme work?" Jet asked.

"Because we're building a place that's supposed to look INTIMIDATING!" Ruce yelled.

"Come on, it doesn't have to," Jet whined.

"You know, it really doesn't," Percy informed.

"See? Percy gets it," Jet said.

"But I still decline the sports theme," Percy returned.

"Oh come on!" Jet cried.

"I'm thinking maybe an ancient ruin theme with pillars and what-have-you," Percy suggested.

"Ha! I can beat that," Grant said.

"Let me guess, an evil science lab?" Muffy asked.

"Ooh, I was gonna suggest a colorful flower theme," Grant said. "But that's even better."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"He wasn't going to suggest a colorful flower theme," Muffy stated.

-After Confessional-

"Wait wait wait, I got an idea too," Lilly stated. "What about a Jhotan Temple?"

"Jhoto? That's where I come from," Yoshi said.

"I know, you kinda gave me the idea," she said. "We could have Gyrados statues planted around the door, maybe some at the top, we could have some tatami flooring inside, and walls that look like bamboo screens, maybe with different images like trees and Swanas and such."

"I... like the idea," Yoshi stated.

"Yeah, that sounds cool," Ruce said.

"I'm on board for the idea too," Percy stated.

"Alright it looks like we got our theme," Ruce began. "Now it's time to tell Bertram the plan."

-Confessional Session(Yoshi)-

"I have a feeling something's up with Lilly," Yoshi said. "I don't know if she's coming onto me or something, but she does seem to take a pretty strong shine to me. But do I want to come between her and Chauncey? ...Or should I protect her from Chauncey? I... don't know enough about Chauncey to know what I should do."

-After Confessional-

And so, the two themes were decided: On team Artic-Uno a Jhotan temple theme, and on Zap-Dos' side a medieval castle theme. Over on Zap-Dos, Wren and Aria were deciding which flags to put up.

"Say, you think it would be cool to put black and yellow flags on the castle to signify our team colors?" Wren asked.

"Honey, you didn't need to ask if that was cool," Aria replied. "It's kind of obvious."

"He he, you're right," Wren said. "What if we drew Zapdos on the flags?"

"Now that sounds like a less obvious cool idea," Aria agreed. "Why don't I draw a rough draft?"

"Go for it," Wren smiled.

Meanwhile, Dustin was checking up on the teams progress.

"Remember, period accuracy," he said.

"What about the inside?" Drenig asked, rushing up to him with a bunch of board.

"Period castles did not use wooden floors," Dustin said. "They use luxurious rugs."

"...Are you sure? I've seen castles use wooden floors all the time," Drenig stated.

"Are YOU sure?" Dustin asked.

"Pretty sure... Although now that I think of it I'm unsure where," Drenig said.

"I'd still rather use a colorful rug," Dustin stated.

"Yeah you're right," Drenig agreed. "A little color hurt no one."

Then Dustin walked off and he saw Chauncey painting.

"Hey Dustin," Chauncey greeted. "I thought this project would very much benefit from my artistic tough. I don't just write poems, I can also be a pretty competent painter. Look, I drew you." Chauncey then turned the canvas over and showed a splendid picture of Dustin looking up, having a noble gesture to him and decked out in his favorite L.A.R. P. ing armor.

"Thy humble leader is pleased," Dustin said. "Could you draw Drenig too?"

"Why not the whole team?" Chauncey asked. "I enjoy painting and wouldn't mind drawing everyone. Maybe we could even do something with pictures of Pudge and Stawolt as well."

"Well... no Pudge please," Dustin said. "He's better left forgotten. Stawolt we can hang as a valiant hero who fell for our cause. ...But mostly to please Wren."

"Affirmative," Chauncey said.

"And uhhhh one more thing," Dustin said. "No pictures of Lilly, not even in your portrait."

"Awwwwwww..." Chauncey moaned as Dustin walked away.

Finally, Dustin ended up with Kiki and Riley. They were working on putting together stabbing dummies.

"Oh, you have everyone's best interest I see," Dustin said.

"Right," Kiki stated. "I just want something to punch."

"I'm kind of the same way," Riley stated. "Still... you do have that L.A.R. P. ing sword of yours. You could use that on these dummies if you wish. Maybe we should carve some bo-staves too."

"I don't need bo-staves, I fight with my claws," Kiki stated.

"Neh, I still like the idea of bo-staves," Riley said.

Suddenly, something caught Dustin's attention. He looked over and saw Aria and Wren holding up some bright yellow curtains.

"Hey look Dustin! Bed blinds," Wren said.

"Me and Wren made them," Aria stated.

"Excellent, well done," Dustin said before looking over to Drenig.

"Hey Dustin, you want to help decorate the interior with candles and plants?" Drenig asked.

"I would be honored," Dustin said before walking over to him and walking inside to help decorate.

Over at Team Artic-Uno, Lilly was putting together pieces of glass, and Muffy was helping. They were mostly using blue glass, so it was undoubted they were making a stained-glass mosaic of Articuno.

"Hey Lilly, does Articuno really live in an Arctic region?" Muffy asked. "And why is its name spelled Artic-Uno instead of Arctic-Uno? And why is our team named so?"

"You been holding those questions in for a while?" Lilly asked.

"I was always kind of shy around others unless they are smaller then me," Muffy said. "Then I used to bully them out of lack of confidence. Yoshi helped me be a bit more open with my true self. Yoshi's a nice person, don't you think?"

The moment Muffy mentioned Yoshi, Lilly went into a trance. It didn't seem like she was thinking about the real world any more.

"Uhhh, Lilly?" Muffy asked again.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Yoshi is kinda dreamy," Lilly said.

"Do you think we have a chance? You know, together?" Muffy asked.

"What? No!" Lilly blurted out. "I mean... no offense but... you two aren't even compatible. ...I don't think."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Muffy asked.

"Cause you're from two different egg groups," Lilly added.

"Oh, but he's such a nice guy," Muffy said. "And we don't need to have children, we can just be together."

"I'm saying he's not your type," Lilly added.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"He's my type..." Lilly said dreamily. "Dah! What I mean by that is that we actually ARE from the same egg group, so we're compatible. ...Okay, maybe I do kind of have a crush on Yoshi. I cannot blame Muffy for having one too. I mean he's such a selfless guy. Especially compared to that Chauncey loser. Oh, I hope they get rid of him soon."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Percy was setting up a nice sand garden to the side of the bunker. He set up some stones and a pit, then started to rake the sand. But suddenly, he heard a metal clanking noise. He looked up and noticed Jet was putting up a volleyball net.

"Having a volleyball court's a good idea Percy," Jet said before setting a pole down on the other side of the garden. After doing so, he looked back and noticed Percy had just pulled the first pole out of the sand. "Hey!" he yelled.

"I'm building a zen garden, not a volleyball court," Percy stated.

"Well I think this place could use some... recreation," Jet stated.

"Why not build a pond?" Percy asked. "You can soak in that."

"How can I without soft ground to dig?" Jet mentioned. "We're standing on cement, we can't dig into that for a pool."

"Well we're not making a fun-zone, we're renovating the bunker," Percy said. "Why not make some straw targets? You can practice throwing spears and shooting bows at them."

"Good idea!" Jet proclaimed. "I'll get to work right on them." And with that, he started to form some straw into targets. That might take a bit though.

Inside, Ruce was putting up some tatami mats while Grant was putting the screen walls together.

"He he, all's going according to plan," Grant said.

"Yup, all smoothly," Ruce stated. "I'm just about ready to put in the wooden table to replace that old one."

"And make some pillows to sit on?" Grant asked.

"Why not?" Ruce agreed after deciding it was a good idea. Eventually, Yoshi came in to check on their progress.

"Looking good guys," Yoshi stated.

"Hey, what do you know about Ruce's sister?" Grant asked.

"Well, she seemed like a nice kid," Yoshi stated.

"Don't give me the runaround, I know you had a hand in her elimination," Grant said.

"Oh not this again," Yoshi said to himself.

"You may act all innocent, but you can't fool me," Grant said. "She was my best friend until you got her kicked out!"

"Grant! We have no proof or evidence he did anything," Ruce shouted.

"We have no proof or evidence Jet did anything," Grant countered. "So what's your point?"

"Okay, I think I'm going to go check on the others," Yoshi said before stepping out.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"I admire Grant for being nice to me," Ruce said. "But I don't admire him for picking on Yoshi. I just have a hard time believing he did anything to Abigale."

-After Confessional-

Yoshi had just went outside and saw Percy and Jet working on straw targets for practice. Seemed like a good idea to have such for recreation. Then he noticed Lilly and Abigale putting up a stained-glass mosaic of Articuno on their new Jhotan bunker. They had both made one for both sides of the bunker.

"Say, maybe we could also make a big hill and a tree to lie under," Muffy suggested.

"That's not a bad idea for those lazy days," Lilly said. "And it could help balance out the zen garden."

"Hey Yoshi!" Muffy called out. "How do you like it?"

"It's coming along nicely, what can I say," Yoshi said.

"Oh he likes it!" Muffy cheered.

"We're glad you're happy," Lilly said. "Now we're putting in a tree for those lazy days. Maybe someday we can both sit under there and talk, Yoshi."

"Uhh... I guess," Yoshi responded.

"I wanna do that with him too!" Muffy cried.

"I keep telling you you two are not compatible," Lilly said.

"But he's so cool," Muffy said. "You're so cool Yoshi."

"You're getting kind of creepy Muffy," Lilly mentioned. "Besides, he's more interested in me. Oops, did I say that out loud?"

"No way, he likes me more," Muffy cried.

"No, we have to stop, we're being uncivil," Lilly pointed out.

"Yes... you are..." Yoshi said before backing away.

-Confessional Session(Yoshi)-

"Okay... this situation between Lilly and Muffy is not comfortable," Yoshi pointed out. "Is this one of those love triangles? Point A and point B are both in love with point C? Or was it point A loves point B, but point B loves point C? That's sort of puts Muffy out and replaces her with Chauncey in that case. I wish I could say I was a love doctor, but I'm not."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Team Zap-Dos finished their castle, and Team Artic-Uno finished their Jhotan temple. Afterward it was time for the fun part: Placing the cannons. Each side had Shieldons helping the teams with their cannons. Nothing special to these cannons, mostly just four cannons, two in the middle in back, two at the sides in front. Each cannon was guarded by a tower that fit the style of the bunkers. And with the cannons built, the NEW bunkers came to fruition. On Artic-Uno's side, a Jhotan temple with a sand garden, shooting targets, wooden exterior, screen walls, tatami flooring, a tree and a hill, and two Artic-Uno stain-glass mosaics. On Zap-Dos' side, a castle with stone faces, a training ground, portraits, a colorful rug, plants and lighting, bed blinds, and yellow and black Zap-Dos flags. ...But that was only the beginning.

**-Plans-**

While waiting for Bertram's announcement, Lilly and Muffy were still going at it as they entered their new bunkers.

"I'm telling you you are not eligible for him," Lilly said.

"I think I still can," she said.

"No, ugh." Lilly then went over to the bookshelf and picked up a book titled "Wedding Bells: Which Mate Is Right For You," and started flipping through them. "Look, see? Bisharps are NOT compatible with Granbull."

"Let me see that!" Muffy growled before swiping the book away. "Huh, what do you know?"

"See, I told you," Lilly said. "Granbull are NOT compatible with Bisharps."

"Neither are Gardevoir," Muffy said, shoving the book in her face. "It says here Gardevoir and Bisharps are two different egg types and are not compatible either."

"Wait, what?" Lilly said, grabbing the book and looking at it in shock.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"NOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo..."

-After Confessional-

"Well I don't care," Muffy said. "I still say he likes me more, and I like him more than you like him."

"I don't think so," Lilly stated. "You're creepy, and no one likes creepy."

"I'll give you creepy!" Muffy yelled before raising a fist. Just then, Bertram came up on screen for the announcement.

"Everyone in the bunkers to decide WHO will be sent over," he said.

"Whatever," Lilly and Muffy said in unison.

Over at Zap-Dos, they were deciding who to send out to see the other bunker. And of course, Chauncey raised his hand.

"Let me guess, Lilly?" Kiki asked once he did.

"Maybe," Chauncey said. "Or maybe I just wanted to see their decor."

"We all do!" Riley blurted out. "You are just being selfish!"

"Why don't I and Wren go," Aria offered. "I'd really like Wren to see their place. I bet ours is better though."

"Hmmm... if Aria has any talent at all, it's criticism," Riley stated.

"What? She's good at other things," Wren stated. "She can sing and cook and do all sorts of things."

"Yeah, but how is she athletically?" Riley asked.

"I'll admit athletics isn't a strong point of mine," Aria confessed. "But I do have intellectual talents."

"Like making sarcastic comments," Riley stated.

"Yes, like making..." Aria started. "Wait, what? No, I have others too."

"To be fair, I do agree Aria would be the right for the job though," Kiki said. "Okay, you and wren can go over."

"Aww, thanks," Wren said with a smile.

"I guess it's time we go tell Bertram," Kiki said as the entire group left to go outside.

Meanwhile at Artic-Uno, Yoshi was getting a bit... worried.

"Say... Lilly and Muffy?" Yoshi asked while everyone was in the room. "I was thinking maybe... you could both go and view the place?"

"I personally would like to see their place," Lilly said. "Assuming a certain someone isn't gonna be there."

"Ugh, who cares about that loser Chauncey, you can have him," Muffy said. "I'm staying here with Yoshi."

"Uhhh... okay... now you're getting REALLY creepy," Lilly said.

"Please Muffy, I was just trying to be nice by letting you go to see the other fortress," Yoshi said. "No need to make a big deal out of it."

"She said she didn't want to go," Jet interrupted. "In that case I'll see this new fortress."

"Oh no," Yoshi said. And yet, Lilly seemed to have a different mindset.

"Sure Jet, you can come," Lilly said.

"Wait, really?" Yoshi asked.

"Why not?" Lilly said before going close to Yoshi. "I want to see him embarrass himself in front of the other team," she whispered.

"Well... Alright," Yoshi said.

At the meeting grounds, the teams have gathered around Bertram's screen.

"Have the teams reached a decision?" Bertram asked.

"Our team has," Yoshi said to him.

"Ours too," Kiki said.

"We choose Lilly and Jet to go see the other fortress," Ruce stated.

When Chauncey heard that, he let out a happy gasp. Lilly was coming over for the day? It seemed too good to be true.

"And we choose Wren..." Aria started. "And Chauncey to go over."

"Wait, hold on? When did we decide this?" Chauncey asked.

"The second they mentioned Lilly was coming here," Kiki stated. "And you said you wanted to see the other teams bunker and not Lilly."

"But... but..." Chauncey stuttered as Kiki pushed him in front closest to the screen.

"It's decided," Bertram said. "Lilly, Jet, Wren, and Chauncey, come to Savil's cave."

"Awww maaaaan..." Chauncey moaned.

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"They're all against me having a love interest," Chauncey said. "Every step of the way from eating all the Pinap berries I picked today and now sending me off to make sure I don't meet up with Lilly. Why should I help such an ungrateful team?"

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Lilly and Jet met up with Wren and Chauncey at Savil's cave. Bertram was there to explain things.

"Okay, so... how does the judging work," Chauncey asked.

"What judging?" Bertram replied.

"Don't play dumb, you said pick two members to judge the other team," Jet mentioned.

"Did I say that?" Bertram asked.

"What's going on?" Lilly returned.

"Oh now I remember," Bertram said. "Yeah, that was just a lie."

"Wait, what!?" Wren asked in a confused state.

"How does that work without bias?" Bertram asked. "No, what I really called you four here for is to steal some plans from the other team."

"Whaaaat?" Jet asked.

"Yup, I had the Shieldons plant some plans in the bookshelves of each bunker before they left," he said. "The person who gets those plans shows their entire team the opponents bunker. The losing team will be left in the dark. And the person who successfully brings their plans to their bunker first will earn an added bonus. ...But more on that later. Now, take these."

Bertram started to hand out small ear buds for the contestants. They seemed a bit confused.

"I find it weird that I'm the only one who actually has ears," Wren said.

"We all do," Lilly stated. "We just don't have earlobes like you."

"Now, testing one-two-three one-two-three one-two-three," Bertram said before speaking into a microphone. "It's time to go to your bunkers. Get to know the team first, then later I will give you the signal."

Before they started walking off, Chauncey decided to be predictable and talk to Lilly.

"Sorry I didn't bring any Pinap berries," Chauncey said. "My team ate them all."

"I can't hear you, I have ear buds on," Lilly jested before walking off.

"Why won't you give me a chance!?" Chauncey called out as she walked past.

"Maybe it's because you're just not likeable," Jet said as he walked off.

"Why you say that to my fist!?" Chauncey threatened before Wren tugged at his formal wear.

"He's not worth it, let's go," Wren said. While walking off, he couldn't help but thank Aria to himself. "It sure was nice of Aria to let me see the other bunker."

Eventually, both groups got to their bunkers, but Lilly and Jet arrived first. Immediately Dustin was there to greet him.

"Greetings brave ones," Dustin said. "Welcome to my castle, please make yourself at home."

"This is the bunker our team made," Drenig stated before walking up to the group. "Do you like it?"

"I think it's very nice," Lilly said.

"Oh please," Jet said. "This place is so boring."

"Hey Jet, did you not say you would be more humble?" Lilly playfully asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I did didn't I?" Jet responded.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Being humble is not as easy as you think it is," Jet said. "This is especially true when you're used to being on the top all the time. I've won so many awards at sports in college, and you can expect that I value those awards. Every time I get a silver or bronze medal at a sport? ...It devastates me."

-After Confessional-

"Anyway it was nice of you to come," Dustin said. "We provided you with a meal. Would you be so kind to eat with us?"

Drenig showed a nice wooden round table with a beautiful roast primitive-Golduck on the table. Drenig then held up a bowl of chopped berries to Lilly's face.

"We even made a bowl of fruit for you," Drenig said. "We know you're a vegetarian."

"That is quite thoughtful," Lilly stated.

"So will you join us?" Dustin asked.

"You bet!" Jet exclaimed before helping himself to a seat. Lilly sat down as well.

Over at Artic-Uno's, Wren and Chauncey were all taking in the sights. Even the entrance looked good.

"Wow... We've' got our work cut out for us," Wren stated.

"It is pretty nice," Chauncey stated. "But how does it look inside?"

As they stepped in, they saw everyone at a table, gathered around a big plate of chopped primitive-Magikarp and Basculin, as well as some other fishes.

"Welcome to our bunker, guys," Ruce greeted.

"We have freshly caught sashimi for your arrival," Yoshi stated.

"Sashimi? I've never had that before," Wren said.

"Never too late to try new things," Percy said.

"I suppose we could sit down and eat while we are here," Chauncey said.

"Yeah, wouldn't hurt anyone," Wren said as they both sat down. They hesitated to start eating though.

"So... tell me about yourselves," Wren said.

"I'm Ruce," she greeted. "I am Abigale's sister. You may notice that Abigale isn't HERE!"

"We're still trying to find out who got her kicked off," Grant added.

"No, we know she had that incriminating paper with her the whole time," Muffy stated. "Ruce is just in denial."

"You little witch!" Ruce yelled. "I keep telling you she would NEVER do something so disgusting!"

"Uhh... Is something wrong?" Wren asked. The rest of the group looked at Wren and Chauncey.

"Yeah yeah yeah yeah, I'm sure that's a fascinating story, but I want to know about Lilly," Chauncey blurted out.

Everyone froze for a moment. There were wondering how to respond.

"Yeah, well playing the blame game isn't helping!" Muffy yelled at Ruce.

"I refuse to believe my sister inflicted it on herself," Ruce said. "She's never been one to do that, and I spy on her A LOT!"

"It's all over with," Percy stated. "Let's just drop it."

"Oh shut up!" Muffy yelled at Percy.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Blugh, glad I'm not on that team," Wren said. "Is this a daily on-going battle? I feel like I'm in a wrestling ring right about now."

-After Confessional-

Over at Zap-Dos, Jet was trying his hardest not to brag about stuff, and Lilly was kind of coaxing him too.

"Come on, Jet," Lilly started. "Tell me about the time you won the cross country race."

"Uhhh, not right now," Jet said, trying to seem pleasant.

"Tell us about all those trophies you've won," Lilly taunted.

"No... I should not," he said.

"Tell us..." Lilly started up again before she was interrupted.

"Drenig, you're twirling your food again," Dustin said.

"I'm even more nervous," Drenig stated. "We have a vegetarian over, and I'm feeling even more finicky."

"What do you mean?" Lilly asked.

"I... I don't know if I want to eat meat anymore," Drenig said.

"I see. You show great sympathy for your food, is that correct?" Lilly asked. "Why do you think I became a vegetarian? It's because of the suffering animals go through..."

"Suffering animals go through?" Aria asked. "You mean like the suffering all the poor little primitive-raticates and nicadas go through after choking on poisons used to feed you vegetarian hypocrites?"

"Who you calling hypocrite?" Lilly asked. "People like you hate it when vegetarians use sympathy tactics to make people stop eating meat, yet you use them to force vegetarians to eat meat."

"Well it's just that..." Aria started.

"And you hate it when vegetarians talk about hurting Pokemon for it, yet have no shame in talking about hurting primitives because of SOME of us," Lilly added.

"But that's because..." Aria started.

"And you forget to mention that some of those crops feed YOUR food!" Lilly yelled.

"Can we just..." Aria started.

"Yes, vegetarianism is flawed," Lilly stated. "But that doesn't make hunting ANY MORE ANGELIC! I stopped eating meat not just because I wanted to minimize the amount of primitives I was responsible for, but because I was sick and tired of being associated with major-league class-A hypocrites like YOU!"

Aria shut up after that last sentence. She was speechless.

"I think you're right Lilly," Drenig said. "I'm considering going vegetarians." He then shoved his plate away from him.

"Wait Drenig," Lilly started. "It's natural to feel sorry for your food. I'm sure your friends have taught you this. But you cannot just quit meat cold turkey. And truth be told, vegetarianism isn't for everyone."

"Well..." Drenig stuttered.

"I appreciate your sympathy, but you don't have to change for me or anyone else," Lilly said. "Only you should decide what you eat. ...But considering you're a carnivorous Pokemon, I'd probably suggest against it."

"I... I guess I'll stay on the fence," he said. "Maybe I can do without some meats."

"Do whatever you feel is the right thing to do," Lilly stated.

"Okay, time to cut the cord cause the Jet frog's getting bored," Jet said.

"...Really dude?" Riley said, speaking up for the first time during the conversation.

"Okay, let's hear your riveting story," Kiki said.

"Yes, enlighten us please," Riley added.

"Let's talk about the time I won the cross country race," Jet said. "You see, at the start of the race, I noticed my shoes were untied, so I took a minute to tie them, and then I took off and I swear it felt like the competitors were all Macargo as I bolted past every last one of them. Like, they couldn't even beat me with a head start."

"Now you see why I brought this guy?" Lilly asked. "He sure is a riot, isn't he?"

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Lilly's words did mean a lot to me," Drenig said. "I'm going to give up Tauros and Emboar and stick with eating just birds and fish from now on. ...Aww, but maybe I should make an exception for primitive Sawsbuck. ...No, I can't. ...Well... Maybe... I've always liked Sawsbuck. But what I'd really like to try some day is Cobalion. ...Except I'd probably not live long enough."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I've not been this humiliated in a while," Aria stated. "I do all of that towards vegetarians. Maybe I should bite my tongue more often, except my beak is too sharp. ...I'm so glad Wren didn't see that."

-After Confessional-

Ruce and Muffy were still going on about Abigale. It was getting on EVERYONE's nerves.

"You HAVE heard all those stories, right?" Muffy asked.

"So WHAT!?" Ruce yelled. "Just because it's true for SOME furries doesn't make it true for ALL furries."

"Have you ever saw P.S.I.?" Muffy asked.

"So WHAT!?" Ruce yelled again. "THAT was a TV show."

"Based on a REAL story!" Muffy challenged.

"SO WHAT!?" Ruce roared.

"GUYS! CUT IT OUT!" Chauncey screamed.

Muffy and Ruce both shut up. Now attention was on Chauncey.

"I've been here for a while, and all I wanted was to check out the decor and learn more about Lilly."

"Lilly?" Muffy asked. "What's so great about her? She can have you. I want Yoshi."

"Wait what?" Chauncey asked.

"Uhh, this might be a good time to add that..." Yoshi started.

"What do you mean "She can have me," and "I want Yoshi?" Chauncey asked.

"Yoshi is one of the nicest people I know," Muffy stated. "He's dreamy, cool, and makes a great motivational speaker. He helped me become what I am today."

"What, you mean a loud-mouth sister eliminator?" Ruce asked.

"I DID NOT PLANT THAT PAGE!" Muffy roared.

"But do you have proof?" Grant asked.

"Do you have proof YOU didn't do it? Does ANYONE have proof?" Muffy asked.

"Ugh, I thought it might be peaceful without Jet here," Percy said.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!" Chauncey roared. "Did you tell me that Lilly actually likes Yoshi!?"

"What, you didn't know?" Muffy asked.

"You know, I was going to say this..." Yoshi started.

"Me and Lilly BOTH have our sights on Yoshi," Muffy said. "Lilly has no interest in you if THAT is what you are wondering."

"Muffy, I have a girlfriend already!" Yoshi yelled.

"Aww, how cute," Muffy said to Yoshi before turning to Chauncey. "Now he's playing "hard-to-get." How can you not like that?"

"But I'm serious," Yoshi said. "Heck, she even auditioned as a guard in yesterday's challenge. None of you saw her because she only appeared in my cell during the part where the Drowzee guards tried to beat us up with batons."

"Right, your girlfriend is a Drowzee," Muffy said.

"Well, yeah," Yoshi stated.

"What a funster," Muffy said after turning to Chauncey. "I love it when Yoshi makes jokes like that. As if Drowzee and Bisharp could actually be compatible."

"No... this isn't right... That can't be... Lilly!" Chauncey said to himself.

Just then, right behind the groups, Bertram appeared on the screen.

"It was nice of you to give each teams a warm welcome," Bertram said. "But now I think you should let the visitors in by themselves to help them further evaluate the rooms. Too much background noise might make it hard for them to concentrate."

"Huh?" Muffy said, looking up at the screen. "Okay, Bert."

Eventually, Muffy, Ruce, Percy, Grant, and Yoshi left their bunkers, and Kiki, Riley, Drenig, Dustin, and Aria left theirs. This left Chauncey and Wren at Artic-Uno's bunker, and Lilly and Jet at Zap-Dos' bunker.

-Confessional Session(Chauncey)-

"No! I will not let that stupid Bisharp take Lilly away from me!" Chauncey yelled. "Yoshi is going DOWN!"

-Confessional Session(Yoshi)-

"It does sound kind of strange, but Bisharp and Drowzee actually are compatible," Yoshi mentioned. "Both are classified as "Human-Shape" egg group Pokemon. ...I understand why a Hypno would be classified as such, but a Drowzee? That seems kind of odd, since you can hardly call Drowze "human-shaped, but I guess species don't change egg-type when they evolve."

-After Confessional-

Eventually the rest were gone and Bertram started to go into business.

"Are they gone?" Bertram asked.

"Huh?" Lilly said as she heard speaking in her ear. "Yes, the others are gone, just me a jet remain."

"Great. Remember what I told you," Bertram started. "The plans should be in the bunker's bookshelf. Can you find them?"

"Ha! Right here," Jet said before rushing to the bookshelf and pulling out a big schematic with pictures of Zap-Dos' bunker on them.

"Very good," Bertram said. "Now, they're still outside, so escaping through there just will not happen. Each bunker has a new trapdoor installed to the defense system. You can use them to escape."

"Got it," Lilly said. Her eyes saw the trapdoor and her and Jet immediately rushed to it. It was time to put the plan in action.

But outside, the teams were getting suspicious. Zap-Dos couldn't help but notice two big posts at each end of the hallway, and a big net shadowing the entire group. There were even some rope bridges present.

"Okay, what's the deal?" Aria asked.

"This is TERRIBLE!" Bertram blurted out, coming onto the screen."I tried to tell them not to, but your rivals JUST STOLE THE BLUEPRINTS TO YOUR BUNKER!"

Everyone gasped when they heard this. ...Everyone except Aria.

"Got it," Aria said. "These so-called blueprints are news to me. We don't have any blueprints that I remember."

"Well shoot the opponents down before they get to their bunkers!" Bertram said. "Through the trap doors inside!"

"What happens if they get away with our plans?" Riley asked.

"One more Pokemon on your team goes home then," Bertram asked.

"On it!" Dustin said before scurrying inside.

"Remember, one of you will not get a cannon, so maybe you can chase after them," Bertram stated.

"I'll do that," Riley said before going inside.

"Well, the spies aren't gonna knock themselves out," Aria blurted as the team went inside to mand their new cannons.

**-It's A Trap!-**

Chauncey and Wren emerged from the bunker and saw all the rope-bridges. There were some smaller ones connecting the bridges to the roof and the wall, but they had different patterns.

"Okay, it should be smooth sailing now," Bertram said. "You just have to walk across the rope bridges back to your bunker."

"Seems simple enough," Wren said.

"It's not. Each bridge and the wall is connected by a puzzle," Bertram said. "On Artic-Uno's side, you will first come across a circle bridge with nine circles. You must step on each of the circles in order or else it will flip on you and send you into the net below. You may NOT step on one a second time."

"Sounds easy," Chauncey said.

"Does it?" Wren asked. "That may be easy for you, but I'm technically a quadruped. Do you notice I do most of my walking on all fours?"

"No," Chauncey said.

"I have to do all that on my feet," Wren said. "And if you haven't noticed, they're big, and big feet are meant for hopping, not walking. So no, that won't be easy."

"Then you must walk across a rope bridge while the opposing side launches dodge balls at you," Bertram said. "AND also while another member of the group chases you."

"Tee-riffic," Wren said.

"On Artic-Uno's side attached to the wall is a steady board," Bertram said.

"Cake," Chauncey blurted.

"Except it's covered in slippery goe, it's skinny, and it isn't straight," Bertram said.

"Not cake," Chauncey said.

"Next, the wall," Bertram said. "It's thick, sturdy, but the opposing spies can easily knock you off here."

"Should not take much to knock that frog off," Wren stated.

"The first thing Lilly and Jet should encounter is a pair of ropes," Bertram stated. "One foot on one, the other foot on the other. You can use your hands if you must."

"Thanks," Wren stated.

"Followed by another rope bridge and a spinning drum," Bertram stated. "The drum doesn't spin by itself, but it uses the weight of the competitors."

"Good thing we brought out lightest competitors," Chauncey said.

"Yeah, but the bad news..." Wren started. "...So did they."

Chauncey stared across the bunkers as he saw Lilly at the other end. He was really nervous.

"Oh no, I can't beat Lilly, can I?" Chauncey asked himself. "I want to prove I'm strong for her. I want to show her that I am the one. But I can't beat her, it shant be done. ...No! I have to do it, for my team! Forgive me Lilly!"

"If you fall down in the net, you must start over at the last checkpoint you crossed," Bertram said. "The checkpoints are just past each of the four gimmick bridges. And remember: Cannons. Also you will have one Pokemon chasing after you."

Lilly looked out across the field at Chauncey. She was just about ready to put him in his place.

"Good thing I brought you along," Lilly told Jet. "You're the only person I can stand less than Chauncey besides maybe Muffy, but you've got athletics on your side."

"Aww, thanks Lilly that is very..." Jet started before he realized Lilly also bashed him. "Hey! I'm not that unlikeable am I?"

"Here come the defenders," Bertram said. "Last note: BOTH members of your team must make it safely back. The chase begins... NOW!"

Lilly and Chauncey both took the start. Chauncey had no problems on the sequence steps, and Lilly managed to balanace well on the ropes. Both of them easily made their way to the first checkpoint. But Wren and Jet were having a harder time. Wren decided to go through the first obstacle on his toes. Wren put one foot down on the first button, then put the other on the second one, but he stumbled afterwards and fell, his left paw hitting the fourth button before his feet left the first two. This caused the steps to flip, and he dropped to the net. And when he got up, he had come face to face with Muffy.

"You better get moving punk," Muffy stated. There was a rule against keeping the contestants down in the pit before the first obstacle. In fact, Wren had to clear the first obstacle before Muffy was allowed to touch him. Even at the first rope bridge, Muffy would have to wait on a platform next to the checkpoint and wait for Wren to cross a yellow line on the bridge before she could touch him there. Bertram wanted to make sure things were fair.

But Jet wasn't having much better luck. When he was on the double ropes, his long legs caused the ropes to separate, giving him not only the splits, but a hard time staying on balance. Like Riley said, he was in charge of taking on the escapees on his side.

"Come on Wren, you can do it," Chauncey said as he started on the rope bridge. Before Chauncey knew it, the balls were flying. One flew right by his head, causing him to lose a pit of balance, but regain it and trek on.

Meanwhile, Wren tried his hardest to keep up on the sequent steps. He tried standing on his whole foot this time. This allowed him for better footing, but it would allow for less speed and put more weight on the steps, which swing a bit regardless of whether he hits the right buttons.

"Come on Wren!" Chauncey called out right before making it to the checkpoint. ...And getting kissed in the face by a dodge ball before putting one foot on the checkpoint, making him start the bridge over.

"Ha! Bulseye!" Grant cried out, claiming to be the one who made the shot.

"Good shot, Grant," Ruce called out.

Meanwhile, Jet tried a different approach by grabbing one rope with his left limbs, and the other with his right. But this proved challenging as well, as he fell through the ropes again. Lilly looked back at him in disappointment.

"Pathetic, I thought you'd be better at this," Lilly said.

"Duh, to be fair," Jet started as he climbed back up. "Athletics doesn't always mean balance."

Lilly shook his head and continued. She tried to stay low to avoid getting hit as badly, and grabbed onto the bridge every time she was hit.

Wren was making slow but sure steps. Using his whole foot gave him a little more balance, but he had to lift as lightly as he could cause he could topple over of he lifted to heavily. But finally, he made it past the obstacle. But now, Muffy was on their tail.

"Ready or not, here I come!" She called out, stomping across the sequence steps.

Lilly was the first to make it to the second gimmick obstacle. Lilly needed little but steady footing to cross the barrel, and it was easy enough for her. She then looked back at Jet and couldn't help but feel even more ashamed.

"Oh come on!" Lilly cried out.

"I'm trying as hard as I can," Jet said, this time grabbing the ropes between his hands and knees. This worked better for him as it gave him better grip, but slowed him CONSIDERABLY. ...But he eventually did cross. "Ha! I did it!" Jet said. "The rest of the course should be a breeze."

"Hurray, good for you," Lilly said sarcastically after stepping on the second check point. "Remember, it doesn't matter if I make it across, we BOTH need to."

"Ha! Got it," Jet said before hoping across the bridge. Jet was... surprisingly fast. Riley had no chance to catch up as he crossed the two ropes.

"Ha, now there's the Jet I expect to see," Lilly said to Jet as he got to the barrel.

Wren was crossing the bridge as nature intended him to: on all fours. The problem? His feet were not designed for crawling. Literally, his anatomy is designed to hop, and not much more.

"Hmph, let's see how he likes a ball to the face?" Ruce said before firing a ball right at Wren's head. Wren, startled by the ball immediately fell to the net below. "Direct hit!"

Meanwhile, Chauncey got back up to the checkpoint, but started to cross the bridge. But Muffy was on his tail.

"I'd start running if I were you!" Muffy said as she chased Chauncey. ...But when she got close, she was hit by a ball. ...From her own team. She was knocked down to the net.

"What the?" Ruce called out and noticed the shot came from the Pokemon on the middle-left cannon: Yoshi.

"Oh no," Yoshi said. "I hit her. Come on, I have to get Chauncey." As it turned out, Yoshi was not a great shot. None of them were, as Chauncey found his way to the end of the bridge.

Jet finally got to the spinning barrel, but was having a hard time with it.

"Uhhh... how do you do this?" Jet asked.

"Don't tell me, the great and powerful Jet can't do THAT either," Lilly said.

Jet's frog legs just would not allow him to cross that barrel. His anatomy made him illsuited. His legs were too long, and they bent oddly, making going on it on two legs almost impossible for him. And going on all fours wouldn't work either.

"Uhhh, no I think I can," Jet said before trying to sidle across. ...Nope, wasn't gonna happen, he fell backwards onto the drum and into the net.

"Oh brother," Lilly cried.

"You try doing it with frog legs!" Jet cried out.

Chauncey slowly but carefully trudged through the slippery surface of the slippery bridge and made it to the wall where Lilly was.

"Huh? Oh no!" Chauncey said.

"Get out of my way creep," Lilly said.

"Why can't you just give our love a chance?" Chauncey asked.

"Because you are only thinking about yourself," Lilly said. "Why do you think I like Yoshi more? It's because he does things out of the goodness of his heart, while you only care about what you want."

"What!? No, that's not true!" Chauncey cried.

Chauncey and Lilly were in the middle. Yoshi was trying to aim for Chauncey.

"Come on, please don't hit Lilly," he said to himself.

"No, I want what's best for you," Chauncey said. "I love you Lilly."

"You are so shallow!" Lilly yelled. "You need to either gain some selflessness or give up, because at this rate..."

Lilly was intimidating Chauncey, which caused Chauncey to back up and Lilly to go forward... And it also helped Yoshi misfire again. Yoshi tried aiming for Chauncey, but Lilly got in the way, and he hit Lilly instead, sending her into the net.

"No! Lilly!" Yoshi cried out, depressed by what he did. It did give Chauncey the chance to run across though.

"I'm sorry Lilly," Chauncey said. "I have to win for my team." Even with balls firing off from both sides, Chauncey managed to make it to the end.

Jet had to start all the way back at the bridge. Once again, he was making quick work at it, but Riley had a plan.

"Kiki, shoot me would ya?" Riley called out.

"Uhh... okay," Kiki said before firing a ball at Riley. Riley quickly caught it and fired it at Jet's back. This caused Jet to fall of the bridge in astonishment. And Riley even showboated a bit by blowing his finger.

Wren tried the same thing he did before with the rope bridge, and managed to get by before Muffy had a shot at him. Wren may not have had the balance of other Pokemon, but it was his best bet anyway. Next up was the sludge crossing. Wren played it safe by going slow and steady on the sludge bridge before winding up at the wall where he was confronted with an angry Gardevoir.

"Did someone on my own team just knock me out?" Lilly yelled before looking back. Lilly walked forward along the wall, trying to deflect balls coming from both sides. It was then she came face-to-face with Wren.

"Umm... hello," Wren said with a happy but nervous smile.

Suddenly, Lilly tried to push him off. Wren countered by grabbing her arms, engaging in a shoving war. ...Neither were that strong though. ...But eventually, Lilly was hit again, this time by the opposing team, a shot that happened to be fired off by Aria's cannon.

"All lights green, Wren!" Aria called out.

"Thanks Aria!" Wren called out before finishing the wall.

Chauncey was really booking it. The spinning drum was no problem for him just like it wasn't for Lilly, but when he started on the bridge, he had to deal with Jet, who was charging right at him.

"Oh no you DON'T!" Jet yelled as he rushed on the bridge. Eventually, he jumped right over Chauncey, landed right behind him with his hands, then gave him a nasty pair of head scissors with his legs before throwing him off. Jet laughed at Chauncey before getting back to the spinning drum. That's where he saw Wren trying to cross.

"You're still back here?" Wren asked. "Maybe you should try bending your legs, you put more density onto the barrel and it might help you balance. And if that doesn't work, try grasping it with arms and legs."

"I know how to do this," Jet said before trying the second approach. He spun over as Wren expected, but was still holding on.

"And if you can just grab the edge, you should be able to right yourself," Wren stated. ...Jet did just that.

"Thanks for the help goody-two-shoes," Jet said before pulling him up. "You just cost your team the win. Good luck trying to cross the drum.

"Hmmm..." Wren was actually better equipped for it than Jet. His big feet would actually help him here as it gave him more stability to allow him to cross easier. He'd still be slower than Lilly or Chauncey, but he was still able to do it faster than Jet. ...Speaking of which, Jet was making lots of ground now, taking out the wall effortlessly. And now Lilly was crossing the wall too.

"We haven't lost yet Lilly," Jet said as Lilly.

Except Jet forgot one thing: Riley.

"Hey! Shoot me another one!" Riley said to Kiki. After being shot another ball, Riley waited for Jet to cross the sludge bridge first. ...But Jet slipped on the sludge bridge and fell. "Huh, never mind."

Chauncey had recovered from his last fall and was following Wren on the bridge. Wren was going quite slowly, but they were farther away from enemy cannons so they were in safer waters now.

"I think we can do it Chauncey," Wren said. "We just have to get across the two ropes, then we're good."

Chauncey kept looking back at Lilly. He was kind of ashamed to be beating her right now.

"No, now is not the time to be dozing off," Wren said. "We have to get to the end."

"Huh? Right," Chauncey said while crossing the bridge. But now it came to the two ropes, and Wren would have a hard time with is since he didn't have knees to grab onto the ropes with.

"I think if I just..." Wren started, trying to go with his usual tactics of making use of his ground stability.

Chauncey looked back and saw Lilly had just cleared the sludge bridge, and Jet was slowing his progress down on it.

"Come on Wren, hurry up," Chauncey said.

"I'm going as fast as I can," he said. "I can't go much faster."

Eventually, Wren did make it across, leaving Chauncey left to the two ropes. ...But he would have to move it, as Lilly and Jet were gaining ground. Chauncey tried Jet's strategy and grabbed the ropes with his arms and legs.

"I... just... have... to..." Chauncey tried moving as fast as he could, and Lilly made it to the sequence steps. But Chauncey was almost there, and Wren was there to help.

"Grab on," Wren said as he held his tail out.

"That's using your abilities," Chauncey stated.

"Then grab my paw," Wren said, holding his hand out.

Chauncey grabbed Wren's paw with his left and holding onto the side with his right. Eventually, he was able to pull himself up, and right before Jet had a shot at the sequence steps. Eventually, the loudspeakers sounded off to announce their victory.

"Team Zap-dos wins again!" Bertram called out through the speakers.

As you'd expect, there was more fanfare from the team as they all went out of their cannons to celebrate their victory with Wren and Chauncey.

"As winners for this event, you all get a look at team Artic-Uno's Jhotan inspired temple," Bertram started. "In addition, Mignon has prepared a giant loaf of primitive-Tauros meat for Team Zap-Dos' victory."

Team Zap-Dos all cheered at the sound of such a delicious prize. ...All except Drenig, who just stood and smiled. He seemed less enthused about it.

"As for team Artic Uno? Well..." Bertram started. "You have a date with destiny soon. Please make yourselves supper before you come to."

Eventually, Jet made it over to his building, and he had some really angry contestants looking at him. Ruce, Muffy, Percy, AND Grant were all staring at him. Lilly just shook her head. ...But Yoshi seemed to stay out of it.

"Wow, that's your so-called abilities?" Ruce asked.

"They don't include balance, sue me," Jet said.

"You know, you haven't proven yourself much at all on this show," Percy said.

"I won us the first challenge, didn't I?" Jet asked.

"So?" Muffy asked.

"And I did pretty good in the second challenge," Jet said.

"The one we still lost," Grant said.

"I'll do better in the next challenge," Jet said.

"Oh trust me," Ruce started. "There won't be a next for you."

**-The Shock-**

Team Zap-Dos gathered around the round table in their castle for their meatloaf dinner. It was a big loaf of Tauros meat slathered in barbecue sauce and garnished with primitive-Grumpig bacon. Dustin decided to cut his friend a piece for him.

"Here you go, Drenny," Dustin said, making use of a cute nickname for him.

"I... I'm gonna say no," Drenig stated.

"Huh? You don't want it?" Dustin asked.

"Drenig, we keep telling you," Aria started. "It's natural to feel sorry, but it's still natural to eat meat."

"It's not that, it's just..." Drenig stared down at the table in front of him. "Lilly did have a point. I have been thinking long about this, and I've decided that I'm going to be a pescitarian."

"...Pesky-what now?" Riley asked.

"It means white-meat eater," Drenig said. "I'm going to cut out Tauros and Emboar from my diet and stick with bird and fish Pokemon."

"Drenig, are you sure you've thought this through?" Dustin asked. Drenig got up from his seat, went to the door and grabbed a spear.

"I'm sure Dustin," Drenig said.

"Well..." Dustin started. "If you're sure, I guess we won't try to stop you."

"Sometimes we all make choices that are hard for us," Kiki stated. "I admire you if you're going to go through with it."

"Have fun on your hunting trip Drenny," Wren said. Drenig smiled back to the group and walked out the door.

Meanwhile, at the elimination ceremony, Jet went back to being nervous about himself as Bertram handed out the glasses of milk.

"I guess you guys just like losing," Bertram said looking at each and every one of them. "Remember to drink up. If you don't, you will be disqualified."

Jet was hesitant to drink his milk. He brought the glass to his lips and then... he was interrupted.

"Stop, don't drink..." a voice blurted out. Just then, everyone's attention was on... Yoshi. "I... I didn't come here to win a prize. I came here to meet new Pokemon, and hopefully teach them the ways of life. I thought my kindness would help bring the team together, but I can see it is only tearing it apart. That is why I am quitting Quarantine."

There was a huge gasp let out by the other contestants. Even Bertram seemed surprised.

"Wait, don't pour that milk out, not unless you're sure," Bertram stated. Yoshi looked at his milk then at the rest of the competitors.

"There's more to it then that," Yoshi said. "Jet didn't cost us the challenge."

"He didn't? Even with his sloppy work?" Lilly asked.

"No he didn't," Yoshi said. "I did. I cost the team the challenge."

"No! You can't be serious!" Muffy cried.

"I hurt two people who cared deeply about me," Yoshi stated. "I shot at Muffy AND at Lilly, and I feel terrible for it. If I had hit my intended targets, we may have won. ...I am sorry."

Just then, Yoshi turned his glass over and spilled his milk all over the ground. This was a sign that confirmed he would forfeit the game.

"No! Don't go!" Muffy cried.

"Muffy..." Yoshi started. "You are a brave girl. I helped you build courage to succeed, but you are now letting your emotions run wild. You are fighting with Lilly over me, and you're fighting Ruce over her sister."

"But you know how..." Muffy started.

"Stop..." Yoshi said. "Like I said, I have met many people like Abigale, and some really are strange, but I've met some who are also among some of the nicest people I met. You should not hate Abigale because of stereotypes you have read."

"Well..." Muffy started.

"And Lilly?" Yoshi asked. "You are mellow, smart, quiet, and generous. However, you're also becoming what you dislike most about Chauncey. You want me as a best friend because you want what's best for you?"

"What?" Lilly asked. "Have I really become just like Chauncey?"

"I'm afraid so," Yoshi said. "You and Muffy both. And like I already told Muffy, I have a girlfriend already. She's a Drowzee named Shina."

"Drowzee and Bisharp aren't compatible though," Lilly brought up before pulling the book she was reading from before. "See it's right he..."

But as she read the book, she found out she was wrong.

"No way..." Muffy said. "Yoshi wasn't kidding?"

"She was even in yesterday's challenge," Yoshi said.

"It's true," Bertram said. "Allow me to show you a deleted scene from yesterday's episode."

Bertram brought out a screen and turned it on. It showed two relatively skinny female Drowzee with with batons. One of them was a bit taller too. The shorter one was Shina and she had a bracelet with a dark-purple stone on it.

"Hmmm, I think I'll have to get my hands dirty for this one," the tall one said.

"Give it all you got for lord Dagger Eyes," Shina said before turning to Yoshi. "Hi Yoshi," she said, smiling at him the whole time.

Yoshi kind of giggled right before the tall one swung his baton at him. Yoshi caught the baton and yanked it out of the tall one's hands before knocking her out, then he grabbed Shina and grabbed the key out of her helmet before unchaining himself. He then walked over to Shina and smiled.

"Good job on getting the part," Yoshi said before giving Shina a kiss on the cheek and exiting the room. The video didn't tell much about Shina, but it did confirm his statement about having a girlfriend that happened to be a Drowzee.

"She's always thinking of evolving to make our relationship seem normal," Yoshi said. "But she also thinks she looks cute as a Drowzee and decided she didn't want to evolve. That's why she wears an Everstone around her arm and never goes to an evolving shrine. We actually knew each other since we were kids."

Eventually, Yoshi went over to the chamber. He had already spilled the milk, so there was no going back now.

"And one more thing," Yoshi called out. "Ruce, you don't have to lash out at anyone until you know for sure what happened. Until you know the truth, keep your anger caged." Finally, the door opened and he entered the chamber, ready to be sent home. "Goodbye guys," were Yoshi's last words before the green smoke enveloped him and he vanished. The contestants couldn't help but feel sad.

"Maybe... maybe he's right," Muffy said. "Maybe I have been getting carried away."

"Maybe we all have," Lilly said before looking at Muffy.

"I... I'm sorry I went into competition with you," Muffy told Lilly. "And I'm sorry for the things I said about Abigale."

"I... I guess I'm sorry for getting so angry," Ruce said. "If it wasn't yesterday, it could have been a day from now."

Muffy looked at Ruce and Lilly. She did feel kind of bad for herself.

"Can... can we go back to being friends?" Muffy asked.

"Yes," Lilly responded. "Let's be friends."

Ruce, Lilly and Muffy all joined for a group hug before Bertram broke them up.

"I suppose it is relevant to mention," Bertram started. "That JET, had Yoshi not quit the game, you would have been sent home."

Jet seemed a bit angry. He was thinking about what he had to do to help his team.

"You should thank him that you're still in the game. ...For now," Bertram stated.

"Let's go back to the bunkers," Grant said before he walked up and left. Percy, Jet, and the three girls also followed in suit.

"Well, what an interesting turn of events," Bertram said. "But now it's time to end one more episode. I'll admit though, this one might be hard to top, but we will just see. Until next time, we say goodbye for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"I will prove to you that I am right for you!"_

_Because cannons just aren't enough, contestants will be learning how to pilot primitive-Golurks._

_"I think I might be good at this one."_

_The competition gets even hotter._

_"Water beats fire every time!"_

_And the shocking duel will put one more Pokemon in it's place._

_"I am strong! Girls love someone who's strong._

_All this and more..._

_"You're really sticking to it, aren't ya?"_

_...in the next chapter of Quarantine: Mech-nical difficulties._


	7. Chapter 7: Mech-nical Difficulties

Chapter 7: Mech-nical Difficulties

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_Ruce was STILL trying to find the culprit behind her sister's elimination._

_"Ruce, we've been through this already, I didn't plant the stupid page."_

_And Chauncey's greed for Lilly grew more and more._

_"I could get you some Pinap berries at the beach, but it'd be a long ways from here. But I'll go the extra mile just for you Lilly."_

_And the contestants found a big plot-hole in the story._

"_You know how sometimes humans appear in the world in the form of Pokemon? Maybe one brought a coconut tree from his world or something? That's the only explanation I can come up with."_

_But with that out of the way, the contestants got to renovate their bunkers and partake in a wicked challenge._

_"What I really called you four here for is to steal some plans from the other team."_

_Two members from each team got to visit the enemy bunkers and steal their blueprints._

_"Okay, it should be smooth sailing now. You just have to walk across the rope bridges back to your bunker."_

_Chauncey and Wren managed to make it back to their bunkers first, stealing the blueprints to Artic-Uno's Jhotan Temple._

_"Team Zap-dos wins again!"_

_Jet's abilities were ultimately put on the line this day._

_"I won us the first challenge, didn't I? And I did pretty good in the second challenge,"_

_He would have been sent home except Yoshi forfeited the game._

_"Jet didn't cost us the challenge. I did. I cost the team the challenge."_

_Thirteen left, twelve more to eliminate. This is looking to be a fierce competition._

**-Jet's Determination-**

Jet couldn't sleep that night. His athleticism was all he had to get him through the competition. Without it, he was nothing but an annoying narcissist. Jet was outside running around, doing flips in the air, and practicing his throwing arm. He was trying everything he could to flex his limbs, making sure he was in tip-top shape. He even did some boxing maneuvers, every exercise he could think of he did it.

"I can't let my shape diminish, it's all I have," Jet said as he boxed the air. "But how do I get balance? How do I achieve that without anything to practice on?"

Jet was determined to stay in the game, and would do whatever it took to win.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Three meetings in a row I've been on the bottom," Jet said. "I do NOT want to end up on the chopping block again. I need to prove myself to my team and for the fabulous prize that will come after winning the whole shebang. I am willing to go to lengths to stay in the game."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, someone was awake and found their way to the top of the bunker. And to make matters worse, they were manning a cannon and were loading a ball. They then lowered the cannon and pointed it at Jet. Ready, aim, and FIRE! A dodge ball struck Jet right in the head. Jet yelped in pain before looking back at the cannons.

"Here comes the DOOM!" a figure yelled after emerging from the cannon room. ...Who else but Grant.

"Ugh, what's the big deal!?" Jet yelled.

"You got Abigale eliminated, so I'm bringing the doom to YOU!" Grant yelled.

"I didn't plant that stupid page!" Jet yelled. "Why are you accusing me all of a sudden. Wasn't it Yoshi you were after?"

"Hmmmm, that was true at a point," Grant said. "But he's not here anymore is he?" Grant then started to mock Jet by talking in a girly voice. "Thank you Yoshi. Without your sacrifice I'd be gone!"

"Oh get over it!" Jet cried. "You all like Yoshi, boo-hoo! Besides that, you never DID confirm it was him."

"True, but I can think maybe I was grasping at straws," Grant said. "I think Ruce might be right about you."

"Why? Because I want to win?" Jet asked.

"That's why we all know it was you," Grant said. "You only care about your own place in the competition! You don't even care about anyone else. You're even more evil than me!"

"Sorry for trying to play the game little one, but I still didn't do it!" Jet said.

"Okay, whatever the great and mighty Jet says," Grant mocked before going back inside.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"If I make more accusations out in the open, that will cement in people's heads that I wasn't responsable for the nefarious crime," Grant said. "And if what I said is true about Jet, it's hardly..." Grant stopped for a moment. It looked like he had a thought that stopped his speech. But eventually shrugged it off. "It's true for me too. All I want is the prize. Because I'm EVIL!" He stopped again after saying that. "No... that's not the real me. ...Maybe it's time to come clean. ...No... No ho ho ho ho! That Grant is history. I'm in it to win it now."

-After Confessional-

Zap-Dos went out on the usual hunting trip, this time Kiki, Riley and Dustin were doing it by themselves. Meanwhile, Drenig was near the shoreline of the peninsula, catching fish. The three were watching him while they were hunting.

"I actually kind of admire him for at least taking a step towards vegetarianism," Kiki said. "I probably never could."

"Technically he's a pescitarian," Riley said. "Unlike you though, he kind of needs SOME meat, since Krookodile are carnivorous by nature. But Combuseken generally don't require such a diet."

"Are you saying I'm weak?" Kiki asked?

"If I am, I'm calling myself weak too," Riley said. "I could never go pescitarian. Tauros meat is just too delicious."

Drenig heard that. He didn't exactly enjoy hearing that comment either.

"Ay man, Is that why we eat innocent creatures!?" Drenig asked. "Just cause they taste good!?"

Drenig rushed over to Riley's direction. Drenig didn't look that intimidating, but... Oh who are we kidding, he's a Krookodile for Pete's sake. Of course he's intimidating! He may have been a bit overweight for his species, but he was still relatively stronger than most of his kind. Not much stronger, but even then no one would want to be at the receiving end of his jaw or tail. He couldn't use them in this competition, but in a real fight he could.

"No, we eat them to survive," Riley said. "You have no idea what the world is like. It's called survival of the fittest."

Drenig was bigger than Riley, but he wasn't scared. Riley was also pretty strong for his species, and wasn't held back by being overweight either. In addition, his jaw and tail were no less intimidating with razor sharp teeth and a tail that could light ablaze. Riley was forced to keep his tail put out for the competition though. Riley's tribal tattoos added to his intimidation factor as well. Something about tribal tattoos makes one look scary.

"We could survive without if we needed to," Drenig stated.

"Not ALL creatures," Riley said. "Certainly not you or I."

Kiki couldn't help but shake her head. Something just didn't sit right with her.

"What is wrong with you?" Kiki yelled.

"Yeah, you think you can just run up to someone and tell them not to eat meat?" Riley asked.

"I was talking to you, Riley," Kiki stated.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"You're being a huge hypocrite right now," Kiki pointed out. "You started out like "Oh, I respect people for doing something I could never do," then go about like it's a crime to do so."

"Uhhhh..." Riley stopped. "You're... kind of backing me into a corner with that statement."

"Good, I hope so," Kiki said.

"Also, I'm not telling you to give up meat," Drenig said. "I was just pointing out the evil in what you said."

"I... ...I need to be alone right now," Riley said before running off.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I know Riley isn't a bad guy," Kiki said. "But sometimes I wonder what his true motives are. No one is perfect though. None of us are perfect. In fact, all three of us showed how we react in a situation: We blow up. Those two would have tore each other apart in a real fight, and in the process they would have learned nothing."

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Pfft. This is the thanks I get for trying to work as a team," Riley said. "This is why I prefer to work alone."

-After Confessional-

"Ugh, now ay know why Lilly hates meat-eaters," Drenig stated. "They're all a bunch of pompous jerks!"

"Thy not be a dark knight," Dustin stated before he went over to Drenig and patted him on the back. "You're letting your emotions get you worked up buddy. Just calm down and everything should be fine."

"Riiiiight," Drenig said, still a bit miffed by Riley.

"Why don't I go fishing with you?" Dustin asked.

"I guess you can if you want," Drenig said before returning to the shore.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Drenig gets moody quite a lot," Dustin stated. "Sometimes he's sad, and other times he's angry over little things. I suppose we're all like that in a way, but still. Drenig hasn't showed his serious angry face till now."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Chauncey was waiting for Lilly at the usual spot, but she had not came this time. Chauncey was getting worried.

"Is she really starting to avoid me?" Chauncey asked. "Does she really hate me that much? What am I doing wrong?"

Chauncey kept looking around, but Lilly didn't appear. Chauncey started to get worried.

"LILLY!" Chauncey called out. Chauncey started to get really frustrated at Lilly's absence. "No... They didn't... They couldn't have... They didn't... send her home did they?" Chauncey then started to shed tears, thinking for a second Lilly could be gone.

"Ugh, what do you want, crybaby?"

Just then, someone appeared behind the cage. It was Muffy. She had a container and was putting berries in it.

"What did you guys do to Lilly!?" Chauncey yelled. "Where is she!?"

"She's back at the bunker, ugh," Muffy said.

"She... she's still here? You guys didn't vote her off?" Chauncey asked.

"No we didn't vote her off, why would we?" Muffy asked.

"But... you're here," Chauncey said. "Why are you picking berries instead of her?"

"You ever stop to think maybe she's avoiding you?" Muffy questioned.

"Why? Why is she avoiding me?" Chauncey asked. "What did I do to her? What awful things have I done to deserve her rejection? WHY WON'T SHE GIVE ME A CHANCE!?"

"Because all you care about is getting Lilly!" Muffy yelled. "Since day one, you've been nothing but a wounded satellite! You're whiny, selfish, and carefree! Lilly has no reason to tolerate you!"

"You're wrong!" Chauncey yelled. "I care deeply about her!"

"And when did you decide that?" Muffy asked. "She's a Gardevoir and you're a Gallade, so you two MUST be lovers! That's pretty much it! That's your M.O. for wanting Lilly and not much else! And you don't care about her, you care about yourself!"

"You have no idea what it's like to be rejected," Chauncey said. "I NEED HER!"

"WHY DON'T YOU WALK A MILE IN MY COLLARS!" Muffy roared. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH IN LIFE! I DON'T CARE HOW BAD YOUR LIFE IS, IT DOESN'T JUSTIFY THE MEANS! ACCEPT SHE DOESN'T LIKE YOU!"

"No! Never!" Chauncey cried. "Lilly! If you're around, mark my words. I will prove to you that I am right for you! I will get her! I swear it!"

Chauncey then ran off in frustration. His mind was on Lilly and nothing else. Suddenly, behind Muffy, clapping could be heard. You could see Lilly right behind Muffy, probably pleased with something she did.

"Well said Muffy," she said. "Couldn't have done it better myself. Still... don't you think you were just a tad hard on him."

"No, he needed to hear it," Muffy said.

"No, I think you could have eased it up just a little bit," Lilly stated. "I don't hate him, I just think he's a bit too obsessed. Really, I think you're pushing him too far."

Muffy let out a sigh after the last comment. Maybe Lilly had a point.

"I was just trying to be a friend," Muffy said. "You know, I didn't have any friends in school, and trying to make friends... I'm still learning."

"I suppose we all make mistakes," Lilly said. Lilly then put her hand out and smiled. "Fist bump?"

Muffy smiled and pushed her knuckle towards Lilly's stub. Then they wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Chauncey's gone from desperate to deranged," Muffy stated. "Maybe I was a little too hard on him. I should probably apologize next chance I get."

-After Confessional-

Ruce and Percy were over at the fence near the dividing wall of the bunkers. After everyone woke up, Jet decided to use the hunting grounds for training, and Ruce wanted to dig up dirt on Jet.

"You sure you don't know anything about that day?" Ruce asked Percy.

"Huh? You're still not giving it up?" Percy asked.

"No," Ruce said. "You were the first to wake up. Did you see anything?"

"No, everyone else was still asleep," Percy stated. "Everyone was. Even Grant was still asleep, and he's usually the first one up."

"Guess he was extra tired," Ruce thought out loud.

"Why? Do you think he was having nightmares or something?" Percy asked.

"Well he did seem to get angry at my sister when she told me he wasn't a real evil villain," Ruce said. "But so what? I don't think that would actually keep him up. ...Unless..." Ruce stopped for a moment to think. "You know, I do find that very suspicious that he wasn't working on his robot at the time."

"Ooh, what's going on here?" Suddenly, two figures appeared by the fences. Aria and Wren were out for a walk. "You playing detectives?" Aria asked. "Maybe we could play with you?"

"No, this is kind of between team Artic-Uno members," Ruce said.

"Wait, let me try," Wren blurted out."Okay guys, we got a fainted Cleffairy near Spinda Cafe. It seems she'd been injected with poison, but we have three subjects: a Drapion, a Beedrill and a Nidoking."

"Uhh... we were talking about..." Percy started before Aria interrupted.

"Ooh that's a hard one..." Aria started. "Maybe the Nidoking?"

"No, you can't just guess," Wren mentioned. "You have to interrogate them first."

"Okay, then I choose to interrogate..." Aria began.

"Come on Aria, let them have a stab," Wren stated.

"Are you done yet?!" Ruce asked, raising her voice to command attention. "We were trying to figure out who planted a picture in my sister's grasp that lead to her elimination two days ago."

"Oh, in that case may we help?" Aria asked.

"No, it's strictly between Team Artic-Uno members," Percy stated. "And right now..."

"Hey Ruce." Another Pokemon joins the party and what do you know it's Grant. "What are you minions talking about? Something evil?"

"Yeah, something or other," Ruce said. "Say, I still haven't ruled you out as a suspect for what happened to Abigale. We find it odd that you weren't up as early as you normally used to get up to work on your robot."

"Ha! I have no use for that pile of unexplained fruit any longer," Grant mentioned. "Not until I can get some supports, so I stopped working on it till I do. Which gave me more time to sleep. Besides that, getting up to work on that robot means I get less sleep, which makes me more groggy the next day. Any other questions?"

"Hmmm, it does make sense," Aria mentioned.

"Hey, what did I say?" Ruce reiterated. "Artic-Uno members only. ...It does make sense."

"And I didn't get the chance to find ANY supports in the last two challenges," Grant stated. "So I'm hoping I'll obtain a few spare parts in this challenge. With my robot finally completed, all will kneel before GRANT THE DASTARDLY! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

"Mwahahahahaha," Aria laughed along. Everyone gave her a glare. "What? It's infections."

"That's Grant for you," Percy said. "Pretending he's some evil smarty pants."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"I can't believe we haven't considered getting rid of him yet," Percy mentioned. "I'm sure he's a nice kid and all, but the evil scientist act is not helping us win challenges."

-After Confessional-

"Back to page one," Ruce said.

"You sure we cannot help?" Wren asked.

"If you were on our side we would gladly accept help," Percy stated. "But as it is... holy Drillburs, what are those."

The group of five looked to the sky and saw many flying vessels in the sky. They looked like Golurks, except they seemed to be metalic. Eventually, everyone who was out hunting rushed back to the bunkers. There, Bertram appeared on the screens on the wall.

"Everyone inside the bunkers!" Bertram called out. "The Golurks need a place to land, and they need everyone to clear out. ...And don't worry, they come in peace. NOW GET GOING!"

Everyone rushed into their bunkers as fast as they could. It was obvious the challenge would involve mechs.

**-Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks-**

The contestants went inside their bunkers and were a bit cranky with Bertram's abrupt announcement. They hadn't even had breakfast yet.

"Come on, a challenge right before breakfast?" Riley asked Bertram.

"Why so soon?" Dustin asked.

"Settle down, you can still have your breakfast," Bertram said. "In fact, you can make breakfast while I talk about today's challenge."

"Great, I'm hungry," Wren stated.

"Today's challenge involves an age-old classic brought to life in giant form," Bertram said. "That's right, giant form, and those Golurks are ours to control. Today, we will be playing... Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks!"

"Great," Aria started. "What does this have to do with zombies and Quarantine now?"

"A good defense is the best offense as shown in your new bunker's defense systems," Bertram stated. "But of course a good offense makes the best defense as well. We've already got our defense created, now our offense is going to be created."

"Right, and we can't just feed the zombies the potion because?" Aria asked.

"Who said we were fighting zombies?" Bertram asked. "We are, BUT we are also fighting Dagger Eyes. ...You remember him, right?"

"How could we forget?" Drenig asked.

"Dagger Eyes is still using the zombies for his own power," Bertram stated. "We have already recovered ONE zombie general, but others remain including Hespute the Dusknoir and Gola the Dragonite."

"Why are we just hearing about these guys now?" Kiki asked.

"Because it hasn't been relevant yet," Bertram stated. "And Bower is nothing compared to those two, so if we're gonna take the fight to them, we have to think big!"

"Chauncey, anything you want to add to the discussion?" Aria asked, assuming he wasn't paying attention. ...Her asumption was correct. Chauncey was still thinking of Lilly.

"Huh?" Chauncey asked. "Oh right, those two. Grim nefarious fiends, we must destroy them."

Everyone palmed their face. Chauncey just said something pathetic.

"We cannot DESTROY them," Bertram stated. "We have to fight them the same way, we must get them to consume large quantities of potion. Since their stomach's aren't quite as strong, we won't need as much, but... They're not going to be as easy to feed either. So for now, until we think of a plan, we have to defend ourselves, and that means utilizing the giant mechs as another part of our defense system."

"Great, can we eat now?" Wren asked.

"Oh fine," Bertram growled. "But make it quick, cause we have training to do."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Bertram thinks of the craziest ways to test our metal," Kiki said. "Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks, except giant. I guess we'll have to wait for full details, but this might be fun for all we know."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Alright, I love Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks," Wren said. "I have to play that with Aria some day. ...Too bad they don't make four-person Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks, cause I'd probably let Stawolt play too. ...Wait, who's the fourth person then. ...I still kind of miss Stawolt."

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"What in the name of brave Sir Spearvalot is Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks?" Dustin asked.

-After Confessional-

Back at the bunker, Jet decided to read a book. This did NOT seem like the Jet people were used to. Lilly couldn't help but comment.

"I thought you said books were boring," Lilly mentioned.

"I'm not reading this for fun," Jet said. "We're going into another challenge and I want to prepare myself, so I'm reading up on mechanics and machinery."

"Hey! That's my book!" Grant shouted.

"It's the bunker's book, not yours," Lilly stated.

"Huh, seems awfully diligent coming from you," Muffy stated.

"Hey, I've been on the bottom three times," Jet said. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to stay in the game."

"You can start by losing the ego," Ruce said.

"Done, check, onto the next item," Jet said.

"Be more helpful and less selfish," Ruce added.

"I'll do that, anything else?" Jet asked.

"Actually prove yourself in a challenge," Ruce added.

"I'll show you, I'll be the best team mate ever!" Jet exclaimed.

"Stop sucking up to me and pretending we're friends," Percy added.

"All of that! Done, check, I'll do it!" Jet exclaimed.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"I do admire his determination," Ruce stated. "But determination isn't enough. He needs to show us all what he is capable of if he REALLY wishes to stay in the game. But really, it would be more fun to watch him endure a meltdown."

-After Confessional-

"It should have been you going home instead of Yoshi yesterday," Muffy stated.

"You know, I didn't ask him to forfeit," Jet said.

"I know," Muffy admitted. "But I still kind of wish he was here. ...Why did he have to leave?"

"Like he said, it's because he felt he was responsible for the team's failure yesterday," Lilly mentioned.

"I feel like he also wanted to teach us a lesson," Muffy said.

"That too," Lilly agreed. "Anyway, we better eat up. We have to head out soon."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Oh, why are Gardevoir's and Bisharp's not compatible?" Lilly asked. "According to the book, the only one in the entire game I'm compatible with is... Chauncey. But then again I didn't come here to find true love. I have my whole life to."

-After Confessional-

The contestants all started heading out towards the giant mechs. Jet was brimming with fighting spirit.

"I'm going to give all hundred percent and then some," Jet said.

"You're really sticking to it, aren't ya?" Percy asked.

"What part of "bottom three times in a row" didn't register?" Jet asked.

"This isn't probably going to involve athleticism though," Ruce mentioned. "I hope that book you read helps."

Finally the contestants reached the mechs. A big patch of fence was taken off to allow competitors to meet in the middle. And right there, the giant Golurks stood. Bertram was there waiting for the contestants. Beside him were two Salamences. There were fourteen mechs visible: six icy white and blue mechs, six electrifying yellow and black mechs, and two fiery red ones.

"Welcome teams," Bertram stated. "These are primitive-Golurks, giant mechanical versions based off of said Pokemon said to have been created by the first civilized group of Golurks so... I don't know how they qualify as primitive, but who cares about details."

"How do you pilot them?" Drenig asked.

"To help me with explaining that are Arbiter and Skree," Bertram said. "Arbiter on team Zap-dos side, Skree on team Artic-Uno's side.

"What's up guys," Arbiter asked. "You've all come today yearning to learn about mechs, right?"

"There's nothing to it," Skree said. "But you'll need to hop in for us to show you how."

"But first, an announcement," Arbiter said. "We only have six mechs per team, so Team Zap-Dos will have to choose one..."

"I volunteer to sit out," Dustin stated. "I meant if that's alright."

"We haven't even discussed things yet," Kiki stated.

"Thy does not believe in such fantastical creations," Dustin responded.

"Drop the L.A.R. P. act for this challenge!" Kiki shouted.

"I just think... I'm not going to be good at this," Dustin said. "And I'm sure you guys want to partake in this challenge more.

"Did you even ask us if we wanted to play this stupid game?" Riley asked.

"I... just assumed," Dustin admitted.

"I'm taking this challenge on indefinitely!" Chauncey exclaimed.

"I think I might be good at this one, so I'll play," Drenig stated.

"Ho ho ho, I would love to play," Aria said.

"Yeah, mechs are cool," Wren said out loud.

"I can oblige," Kiki agreed. "I think this challenge will be fun."

"...Whatever," Riley said. "I'll play along, but only because I kind of like mechs."

"Right, we choose Dustin to sit out then," Kiki said.

"Great, pick a mech and whenever you're ready..." Arbiter started.

"We can lift off!" Skree finished.

Wren immediately went to the mech, but had a hard time figuring out where to go inside it. Even Aria had a problem.

"Okay, how are we supposed to..." Aria started. Before she could finish, Arbiter pressed a button, and the belly of Aria's mech popped up, revealing a cockpit. But it hit Aria in the head in the process. "Why did I not see that coming?" Aria asked as she got up.

Chauncey was going up to his mech, when Muffy confronted him about earlier.

"Listen, Chauncey?" Muffy started. "I just wanted to say that I'm..."

"Oh get lost you ugly brute!" Chauncey yelled.

"UGLY!?" Muffy exclaimed. "I'm not ugly..."

"I am telling you this right now, I WILL get Lilly," Chauncey said flat out.

"Chauncey, Muffy is trying to..." Lilly started. But Chauncey stopped her.

"Listen Lilly, I will do whatever it takes," Chauncey said. "I will take on a horde of zombies or Dagger Eyes or anyone else who gets in my way just to be with you."

"Listen bone head!" Muffy said. "I just wanted to..." Once again, Chauncey cut her off.

"I don't care what you want! Lilly is mine!" Chauncey yelled.

"Chauncey, just listen for a..." Lilly started. But Chauncey cut her off yet again.

"Ever since I layed eyes on you," Chauncey said. "Like an angel from heaven, float softly to to the surface to rescue me from tedium and monotony, you are the savior of my heart, my life, my destiny! I will guide you to the promise land so that we..."

"I will DESTROY YOU!" Lilly roared. "You are the most ignorant and greedy piece of Trubbish I've ever had the misfortune of knowing! You just randomly decided we were meant for each other and no matter what advice I gave you, you kept getting worse and worse as the days went by. You are a dillusional scumbag of a monster if you EVER think we have a chance for each other!"

Chauncey froze in fear. He had transcended beyond believability right now.

"I thought we were trying to apologize," Muffy stated.

"You're wrong, Lilly!" Chauncey cried. "If you will not be with me, then I will destroy you first!" Chauncey then marched off to his mech and waited for it to open before angrily hopping inside. Everyone just stared at him as he went in.

"All in favor of losing on purpose just to get rid of him?" Riley asked.

"Maybe I should talk to him instead," Wren decided.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Chauncey can be a good person, I know he can," Wren stated. "I want to see if I can help him find who he really is. Maybe Aria can help too. ...Hey! If it works, he could join us and Stawolt for four-player Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks!"

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"If all you want is a love interest, then why are you here?" Riley asked the camera, referring to Chauncey. "Go home, crybaby!"

-After Confessional-

Over at Team Artic-Uno's side, they were having a big problem with one of the mechs. ...Mainly Percy's mech.

"Uhhhh... It seems awfully cramped in there," Percy said. "Are you sure I'll fit inside?"

Jet was watching the whole thing. Jet decided to give him advice on the matter.

"Maybe if your tail let go of your waste, your top half would be smaller," Jet said.

"Good idea, I'll try that," Percy said before looking at Bertram. "Unless that counts as using my abilities."

"Huh? No, that's fine," Bertram said. "Just as long as you're not actually using your tail in Quarantine activities."

"Okay, then here it goes," Percy began. The moment his tail let go of his waist, his chest got smaller. ...But then his gut hung out. Percy looked down and gave a sad look.

"Hey, I thought you weren't fat!" Jet stated.

"I... I wasn't when I came," Percy mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Who knew it'd take a Jet to make me realize I keep forgetting to work out," Percy mentioned. "And when I think about it, I've been eating the most out of anyone there. We're also eating a lot of fatty foods, which doesn't help in busting calories. Yikes... maybe I should work out with Jet."

-After Confessional-

"Hey, Jet," Percy called out. "Do... you mind if I join you in your next exorcise routine? Assuming you're not gone by then?"

"Huh... No one's ever wanted to work with the Jet-frog," Jet said.

"Well, I kind of want to burn some calories, so I wouldn't mind," Percy added.

"Well hey, why not?" Jet said with a smile. "But... are you sure? I thought you didn't like me."

"You seem determined to stay in the game," Percy added. "Maybe that could motivate you to work hard. You seem pretty pleasant right now by the way."

"You... you saying you don't hate me?" Jet said. "Sure. ...Maybe if you want, I could help you with other things too."

"You could," Percy added.

"Sure, why not?" Jet then went over to his mech and boarded it. Percy struggled with his, but managed to squeeze in. "I am trying to be more pleasant after yesterday. Day two told me I was unpleasant, day six told me I needed to work on my abilities. So now I'm doing whatever it takes, even if it means trying to be a nice guy, which is... something I'm not used to doing."

"Hmmmm..." Percy thought about what Jet said. He just didn't trust him that much as a Pokemon. "I'm sure you'll do fine."

With everyone in their mechs, Arbiter and Skree were ready to train the groups. They could each communicate to their teams through the use of a microphone.

"You will notice there are four levers to control," Arbiter said to his group. "The two in front control the legs. To go forward, move one stick forward, and once the leg commences touchdown, move that stick back to neutral while moving the other stick forward. Afterwards, do the same, rinse and repeat till you get your desired location."

Arbiter and Skree watched as a lot of contestants struggled to get their mechs going. They even saw Grant's mech doing the splits as Grant tried to move the first foot all the way back instead of into neutral.

"Argh! A dance pose! Evil doesn't dance!" Grant yelled.

"Give it a little practice," Arbiter said. "You'll get it."

"You're just gonna ram that evil motif to the ground, aren't you?" Muffy said on the intercom.

"I think it's kind of cute to be honest," Ruce stated.

Some of the mechs were doing well though. Drenig's mech, for started, operated quite nicely. Drenig worked with mechanics a lot, so it didn't take him long. Lilly's mech was also doing well. Lilly read a lot, so she became a pretty fast learner. But two stood out most of all.

Jet's mech was preforming outstandingly. He was even able to turn and do all sorts of things. Reading that book helped, but his determination to prove himself is what pushed him to succeed. But Chauncey was equally determined. Fueled by rage, his mech walked forward and back in a faster time than the other contestants. He even pushed one of the remaining joysticks, and a punch was thrown in the air.

"Okay, that's very good," Skree said through Zap-Dos' intercom. "The other levers control the punch. Push back to retract, straight forward to jab, and pulling up on the lever when jabbing does an uppercut."

"You mean like this!" Chauncey yelled right before preforming an uppercut with his mech.

"Yes, precisely!" Skree mentioned. "But there's even more to it. There's a button on each of the arm levers, and a switch near both levers. Flip the switch."

When the contestants flipped the switches, the arms opened up, revealing cannons.

"Ha! Piece of cake!" Jet proclaimed. "And the buttons fire!"

"Correct, Jet!" Arbiter said to him. Jet's mech fired a shot at the air past Arbiter's mech and noticed the controls in this mode were different. "When controlling a cannon, the arm stiffens and the controls change for aiming. On your screen there should be a..."

"Cross-air!" Jet exclaimed.

"...Yes, you seem very enthusiastic," Arbiter mentioned.

"Watch out Zap-Dos! Here comes the new and improved JET!" he yelled with victory in his heart. He was hoping his determination would drive him to victory.

**-MechWarrior Resurrection-**

Eventually, training was over and the two teams took a sandwich break. Dustin, who was sitting out of the challenge, joined a circle in their group where the only two not participating were Wren and Chauncey.

"So... how's it been so far?" Dustin asked. "Not that I'm interested in doing it myself, sci-fi isn't much my thing really, but I am happy to know how it went."

"Ugh, you are not missing much," Kiki stated. "It's like wearing a sumo-suit made of sand."

"I still say you should have at least waited before rudely offering to sit out," Riley stated.

"I managed to make my mech throw a tantrum," Aria mentioned.

"Aww, come on guys, I thought that was awesome," Drenig stated as he was picking out all but the white primitive-Unfezant meat out of his sandwich. "I've always wanted to pilot big machines. By the way Dustin, you want these?"

"We're proud of you," Riley said, still kind of angry he had to play this challenge.

"By the way," Dustin started. "Where are the other two?"

"Wren said he went to look for Chauncey," Aria stated.

Sure enough, Chauncey was eating his sandwich all alone behind the mechs. Wren was there trying to talk to him.

"Chauncey? ...Hey there big guy. Do... do you want to talk?" Wren asked.

"Why! You want to tell me to just give up, don't you!" Chauncey scoffed.

"No, I just came to help," Wren stated.

"You're lying! You came to rub Lilly's rejection in my face!" Chauncey yelled. Wren let out a deep sigh.

"Look, I know you're going through a difficult moment," Wren stated. "Heck, I've had girlfriends at school, and I've had so many turn me down. I felt sad, depressed, even angry at times. But I eventually..."

"See! You're doing it!" Chauncey yelled! "You're telling me to get over it! Well it's not happening! If she won't love me, she will learn to through the power of transformation!"

"You can't just make someone love you," Wren stated. "You actually have to get to know her."

"I TRIED THAT!" Chauncey screamed.

"But you didn't follow through, you gave up way too early," Wren said. "You became desperate. You're letting her control your life. It's not healthy."

"SHUT UP!" Chauncey roared. "I am going to win this contest, and I will PROVE I am strong! I will PROVE to her that I am the one for her!"

"You can't," Wren stated. "You can't just force someone to love you, that's your problem. You don't realize how it's effecting you, your love interest, or your team mates. You really need to calm down."

"I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU!" Chauncey erupted.

"Think of it this way," Wren stated. "You're becoming a monster."

"I AM A MONSTER! SO ARE YOU!" Chauncey roared.

"You know what I meant, you're letting your anger control you," Wren said. "And think of it another way, the way you have been acting, you will likely be the next to go home."

"NOT IF I WIN THIS CHALLENGE! NOW GET LOST!" Chauncey threw the remains of his sandwich at Wren and stormed away from him.

"So much for four-person board games," Wren said to himself with a shrug, Tamato berries, mayonnaise and primitive-Emboar meat running all over his face.

Over on Artic-Uno's side, Jet and Percy were passing the projectile Jet shot out of his mech, which as you guessed was just a dodge ball painted black and filled with some weights so that they actually effect the mech that gets hit with them. With each pass, they spaced themselves farther and farther apart, even switching directions to keep each other on their feet.

"Go left, Percy!" Jet called out as he threw the ball. Percy managed to catch the ball and was starting to charge up for a really long shot.

"You might wanna go long for this one!" Percy shouted before throwing the ball a good distance. But still, Jet managed to catch it. ...Except he bumped into Chauncey when he did.

"Watch where you're walking, idiot!" Chauncey yelled before shoving Jet backwards.

"What's your problem?" Jet asked.

"None of your business!" Chauncey yelled before walking back to his mech. Muffy ended up seeing the ordeal and shook her head.

"Lilly, I think you better go apologize," Muffy suggested.

"Even if I try, he won't listen," Lilly excused.

"Blegh, and I thought Jet would be the one to have a meltdown," Ruce stated.

"Mwehehehe, that's right. Release the anger," Grant muttered. "Let the hate consume you!"

"That's not helping, in fact that's in poor taste," Ruce mentioned. Lilly let out a sigh.

"Maybe I should at least attempt to apologize," Lilly said. "He can't be this thick-headed."

But when Lilly got up, Arbiter and Skree called out to the group.

"Teams, it is time for the main event," Arbiter mentioned.

"Too late," Muffy stated.

With his words, everyone got into their mechs, and the rules were about to be explained.

"Rule are simple," Skree started through the intercom. "One member of each team will square off against the opposing side. The object is to aim for the head with either cannon or fists, but fists are generally more effective and can block shots."

"Attack the head till it pops up," Arbiter added. "Just like in Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks."

"Now, discuss among your team who will go first," Skee added.

Over at team Zap-Dos, Chauncey was still angry. He wanted to fight Lilly very badly.

"I'll go whenever Lilly does," Chauncey said. "I have some unfinished business with her. I will show her the error in her ways!"

"Ugh, you're STILL obsessed with her?" Kiki asked.

"I'd say it's more desirable to have our stronger players go last," Drenig stated.

"What difference does it make?" Aria asked.

"...Huh. I'm not sure," Drenig said. "I guess there's always something about letting stronger players go last or something, maybe if the opposite team tries the opposite strategy it puts more strain on them."

"I wanna go first," Riley said. "I just want to get this over with."

"Well... I guess it makes no difference," Kiki said. "Okay Riley, you can go first."

"Great, I'll try to take out as many as I can," Riley said before going forward.

And sure enough, on Artic Uno's side, Jet wanted to do the exact opposite.

"I think it would be best if we augmented our two strongest players first and last," Jet said.

"Oh, I get it, it's to get rid of the weaker players and have the rest go through a gauntlet, right?" Muffy asked.

"Precisely," Jet said.

"Fine, I shall go first, being the mechanical genius that I am," Grant stated.

"Well I wanted to prove myself to the team by taking out as many as possible," Jet said. "In fact, I bet I'll take out the entire team."

"Fine, embarrass yourself," Ruce stated.

"Don't worry, I won't," Jet said before he sent his mech forward to fight Riley.

Eventually the two mechs squared off in a round bald patch on the ground. Arbiter and Skree were there to supervise the match.

"Team Artic-Uno, are you ready?" Skree asked.

"Yeah! Let's get it on!" Jet yelled.

"Team Zap-Dos, are you ready?" Arbiter asked.

"Whatever," Riley responded.

"Then let the first match BEGIN!" Arbiter called out.

Jet flipped the switch on his mech's right arm to open up the cannon and started firing off at Riley's mech's head. Riley blocked all the shots he could before going forward. Jet stopped the cannon fire as he saw he was coming forward. Jet's mech took a step forward and charged for a punch. As Riley's mech got close, Jet shot the punch into Riley's mech, causing it to fall backwards. Riley flipped the switch on his mech's right arm again and charged for an uppercut. Riley moved his mech's arms backward, right himself into a sitting position, then moved both leg levers forward to get his mech's legs in the ground to help right itself better. ...But before Riley got up, Jet shot a punch at Riley's mech's head and much to his surprise, the head popped up. And that was when Riley's mech shut down and his cockpit opened up. This basically meant Jet won the first round.

"I did it?" Jet asked himself. "Ha! I did it! Water beats fire every time!"

"Stupid mech," Riley said to himself before he got out.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"I'm not a rocket scientist, okay?" Riley stated. "I don't care about mechs that much. They're stupid. ...Except the ones on TV, they're kind of cool. ...And the ones in the video games. ...And the ones in the comic books. ...Okay, mechs in real life are stupid."

-After Confessional-

Jet's next opponent was Wren. Wren felt a little more confident going into the event. In their fight, Wren started out firing his shots. Jet just ran through them, figuring he wouldn't be accurate enough to hit his head, and he wasn't. Jet managed to get near Wren's mech, charged for an uppercut, and sent it straight at Wren's mech's head, delivering another knockout for team Artic-Uno.

"Huh, he's actually doing good," Ruce admitted.

"Guess he really took his training seriously," Percy stated. "Good for him."

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"I still don't like Jet," Ruce mentioned. "But I do admire his drive. Maybe there's hope for him after all."

-After Confessional-

"Alright Jet, doing good. Who's going next from Zap-Dos?" Arbiter asked.

The remaining members were wondering who to send next. This was a hard one.

"What should we do?" Kiki asked. "Do you think we should send Drenig out next."

"I don't know," Drenig stated. "I think I can take him, but..."

"Oh please, if you don't want to go, I'll go next," Aria said.

"Chauncey, what about you?" Kiki asked.

"I'm waiting for Lilly!" Chauncey said. "I'm going to destroy her."

"Huh? That's different," Aria asked.

"I don't want to know the reason cause I'm assuming it's stupid," Kiki said. "But we will do you a favor and save you till she comes up."

"Right, she's going down," Chauncey said.

"Now... who's going next?" Kiki asked.

"I'll take care of him," Aria said. "He seems to be the over-confident type."

"Alright, you can go," Kiki said.

Eventually, Aria's mech went forward to fight each other. The bout started and both bots played the same game: One fist on cannon, and one on fist. The fist shields their face while the cannon fires of. Then, Aria decided to go forward with her mech, but Jet decided to strafe, catching her off guard and getting some shots in at Aria's Mech's head. After several shots, her head popped up and Aria's mech fell to the ground.

"Ha! Another one bites the dust!" Jet proclaimed.

"Guess it wasn't just overconfidence," Aria said before exiting her mech.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Oh the irony," Kiki stated, commenting on Aria's confidence in that fight.

-After Confessional-

"He keeps winning," Kiki said. "What's gonna stop him?"

"I honestly never considered Jet to be the type who's good with machines," Drenig said.

"Okay, I'll fight him," Kiki said. "I got a calm head, so I know I can take him. ...I hope."

Kiki's mech went forward, and once again another fight was started. Kiki stayed in defensive position, hoping to goad Jet into attacking.

"Come on, you think you're really that much of a hot-shot?" Kiki asked through the intercom of the mech.

"What part of fire beats water don't you get?" Jet asked.

"This isn't a battle, it's a game not involving those two things," Kiki added

"It won't matter, cause I'm gonna win!" Jet proclaimed. Jet's mech then ran toward Kiki's mech. But Kiki thrust her fists into Jet's mech, shoving him down. Jet was now in Riley's position, except he did something different. He curled one fist up, then slammed the other into the ground and pushed down on the dirt, which caused his mech to roll over. After getting into a crouching position, Kiki opened fire. Jet made is mech crawl through short movements with the joystick until he was far enough away that he could right himself again.

"Come on you stupid frog, stay down!" Kiki said, starting to get a bit angry. Kiki started to aim for the head, and Jet tried to make his mech turn around.

"I won't give up, chicken!" Jet cried. Jet pumped the mechs arms up to the sides then spun. He deflected many of the cannon shots before firing at Kiki's Mech's head.

"Oh no you don't!" Kiki yelled firing both cannons.

"Oh yes I do," Jet said confidently, aiming with both of his.

Eventually a winner emerged in the turmoil. ...And what do you know, winner and still champion: Jet emerged on top. Kiki's frustration got the better of her.

"Ha! I told you I'd win!" Jet said proudly.

"Oh come on," Kiki said in defeat.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"It may look bad for us right now," Drenig stated. "But I'll bet Jet's pride will eventually be his downfall. I think if I can talk like I'm deadly afraid of him, it will make him drop his guard, and I can put his winning streak to rest."

-After Confessional-

Jet WAS feeling confident right now, and could you blame him? He had taken out four members of Zap-Dos all by himself. But could he take down a fifth?

"Well, Jet's been doing well for himself. Now, he faces the fifth member of team Zap-Dos," Skree said, charging up for Drenig's intro. "Your next opponent is... Drenig!"

"Ha! I'm going to enjoy kicking YOUR butt," Jet said.

"Ay bet you enjoyed kicking everyone else' too," Drenig stated.

"But yours especially," Jet said.

"...Why me man?" Drenig asked. "What did I do?"

"Oh please, remember the second challenge where you out-threw me?" Jet said.

"So basically you want revenge for one challenge?" Drenig asked.

"No, I just plain don't like you, you fat crock!" Jet taunted.

"Fat crock!" Drenig yelled. "I'll give you fat crock!"

Drenig's mech charged after Jet's mech. Drenig was not keeping a calm head, which might cost him. As Drenig's mech came closer, Jet immediately threw an uppercut at Drenig's mech's head. ...But it missed!

Drenig didn't throw out strategy all together, when he got close enough, Drenig thrust both legs back, causing his mech to slide on it's knees. Drenig's mech proceeded to smack one fist into Jet's mech's torso, then the other fist up into his head. With a direct hit on both accounts, Jet's mech's head popped up, and his mech was done.

"Ha! That's THEE fat crock to you!" Drenig shouted. "And don't forget his cool hair either! Eww, speaking of which..." As Jet popped out of his mech, Drenig opened his up. He jumped out and started to groom his hair with his luxury item, which of course was a comb.

"Ugh, I can't believe I lost to you AGAIN!" Jet cried before crawling back to his group. There, everyone was looking at him funny. "Alright, I didn't win every fight, but I did good, right? Good enough to keep me on the team?"

Ruce's face got ugly as she stared at Jet. She seemed hesitant to say anything.

"You... did... very good out there, Jet." Ruce said.

"Really?" Jet asked happily.

"Hey, four out of six. That's pretty remarkable," Ruce said.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

Ruce was holding onto a strange bar that looked like some kind of soap. She was shaking it like she was scared of something.

"Ugh, I made this bar of soap on day two because I knew I'd need to use it eventually," Ruce said. "And now I have a reason to use it." Ruce then scrubbed her mouth out with her bar of soap. She was acting like she said something bad. "I hofe I neva hef to comfliment Jeth ahckain."

-After Confessional-

Drenig took out Jet, but he still had five more members of Artic-Uno to go. Could he really take on the rest? And what about Chauncey? Would he be needed?

"This is looking up to be a fierce come-back," Arbiter said. "Stick around, cause this fight is not over."

**-The Comeback?-**

"It looks like this guy's gonna be the main competition," Ruce said.

"No worries," Grant stated. "He still has the five of us to beat, and he'll never get past me."

"Oh I highly doubt that," Lilly said. "You don't seem to be all that smart."

"Why does everyone always doubt Grant the Dastardly?" Grant asked. "I'll show you! I'll show the lot of you!"

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Ugh, give it up already, no one's convinced you're an actual super-villain," Muffy scoffed.

-After Confessional-

Grant's mech went forward to face Drenig.

"Right, next match is Grant VS Drenig," Arbiter mentioned. "Let's do this already!"

"Here comes the DOOM!" Grant yelled as he blazed both cannons at Drenig. Drenig kept his mech's guard up and strafed sideways till he could outrun Grant's guns, then fired off at Grant's head. Grant's mech managed to catch up, but could not penetrate the other arm Drenig used to protect his face. Drenig fired shot after shot at Grant's mech's head. Grant tried to turn around to easier combat Drenig, but it was no use: Drenig's shots eventually took out Grant's mech's head, and Grant joined Jet on the list of victims.

"Wooooooow... the doom really came," Muffy said to the group in a sarcastic tone.

"I was going to say the same thing," Lilly responded.

"...Next?" Ruce asked.

Percy decided to go next in line, ready to combat Drenig's mech. Percy did not know what to do.

"Listen, I may be strong, but I'm not good with mechanics," Percy said over the intercom. "Please go easy on me."

"Weeeeeell..." Drenig said to himself right before the match started. Percy immediately opened a cannon and shot at Drenig while marching forward.

"Hey, I thought you were bad at this," Drenig stated.

"I am, I'm taking a chance," Percy said.

Drenig kept his defenses up as Percy came closer to his mech. And when Percy got close enough, he thrust forward to hit Drenig's mech in the chest. ...But Drenig's mech backed away to the side before he could connect, and Drenig responded with a double smack to Percy's mech's head. Percy's mech fell down, and its head popped up. Drenig claimed a third victim, but still had half the team to go.

"He seems to know about mechanics quite a bit," Lilly stated.

"Well duh," Muffy stated.

"On the contrary, I think I can still beat him," Lilly mentioned.

"But I thought we were gonna save you for last," Ruce mentioned. "After all, you are our strongest player."

"What's the point in that strategy though?" Lilly asked. "It doesn't make a difference."

"What if you don't win?" Ruce asked. "Maybe I should go first."

"Why?" Lilly asked.

"I wanna kick some butt, too!" Muffy cried.

"That's kinda why, cause I'm worried if you go, I might not get a chance to," Ruce said. "I want to at least take a stab at the challenge."

"Well... okay," Lilly said. "Like I said, it doesn't make a difference. ...I don't think."

But Lilly was worried deep inside. Especially since after Drenig was defeated, she'd have to challenge Chauncey. And Lilly really wanted to talk to him and apologize. ...If he could even be helped.

Over at the sidelines, all the losers were watching Drenig.

"Go Drenig!" Dustin shouted. "Slay thy... uhhh... dragons? Mechanical beasts? Uhhh..."

Wren couldn't help but feel sad. Wren tried to help Chauncey, but he failed.

"Why so glum little guy?" Aria asked.

"I tried to help him but he refused my help," Wren stated. "I feel like I could have made a new friend and I failed. ...What if I established a bond with him in the last challenge? Maybe I could have saved him."

"Little honey..." Aria started. "Chauncey isn't your fault. I'm sure after Bertram's latest unrelated-to-zombies challenge is over we can talk to him together. ...Depending on what his mood is."

"Fine, but he better make it quick," Riley said. "He doesn't win this challenge, he's history.

"I'm going to have to agree with Riley on this one," Kiki said. "We've tried getting him to work as a team, and he really hasn't. He's still fixated on Lilly."

"Wait! Drenig's on! His next opponent's ready to fight," Dustin stated. Wren let out a sigh.

"If he can't be helped, then he can't be helped," Wren said.

Ruce was about as competent with the mech as Percy was, but who knows. Her mech entered the area and prepared to tee off against Drenig.

"Well... let's have a clean fight then," Ruce said.

"Ay, alright then," Drenig said. "You don't have to worry about me cheating. I couldn't if I wanted TO!"

As Drenig was talking, Ruce's mech ran up and slammed an uppercut right at the head. Drenig blocked just in the nick of time and swung his fist down to hit Ruce's mech's head. It hit... but the head didn't pop up, which meant she was still functional.

"Nice save," Ruce said before punching Drenig's arm out of the way then trying to strike his head. Drenig managed to dodge once again, and counter with another punch to the head. This time it popped up, and Drenig had claimed another victim.

"Awww, thanks for the compliment," Drenig said, making it clear he wasn't going to say anything till the fight was over.

Over with Lilly and Muffy, Lilly was starting to get extra worried. She was losing the will to hold back right now.

"Okay, now I'm getting worried," Lilly stated.

"I wanna go next!" Muffy cried.

"No, this is looking dangerous," Lilly stated. "I know I can take him, and I want to get rid of him as soon as possible. You can fight Chauncey just in case he beats me."

"You can't be too sure you can beat Drenig though," Muffy added.

"No, I can't be too sure," Lilly admitted. "But I do have a good shot at beating him compared to those who've fallen. I'm going in."

Muffy watched Lilly's mech march off to fight Drenig. Muffy couldn't help but feel sad.

"Awww, I wanted to beat Drenig," Muffy whined.

Lilly met Drenig at the field, and the announcement was beginning for their fight. This one might be a good one.

"Alright, both teams are tied," Arbiter stated.

"Now for the tie-breaking round between Lilly and Drenig," Skree said.

"Hope you don't mind losing to a girl," Lilly said.

"Ay, it's no problem," Drenig said. "Just as long as you're not trying to distract me so that you think you have a chance."

Lilly wasn't trying to distract him there, but instead she strategically shot at Drenig's mech's torso. Drenig had a good handle on the mech, but he didn't have Lilly's strategic thinking. Drenig's mech started to go forward with his arms shielding his head, but Lilly's shots slowed him down. Lilly then decided to shoot Drenig's leg, which helped in throwing the mech off balance.

"Dang, ay wasn't seeing none of that coming," Drenig said before lowering an arm and firing at Lilly's mech's head. Lilly's mech raised it's arm to deflect his shots.

"Not everyone likes surprises," Lilly added. Eventually, enough shots at Drenig's mech's leg caused Drenig's mech to stumble and fall. It looked like Lilly could finish it, but Drenig put his mech's arms out and pushed down, then punched the ground to help right his mech up.

"You're pretty good, I'll give you that," Drenig said, going for a punch to Lilly's mech's gut.

"You're more than half bad yourself," Lilly complimented, slamming an arm on Drenig's shoulder to stay up after the punch. The spikes on the mech's shoulder were pretty dull, so it didn't effect her mech's arm. Drenig fired another punch, but Lilly managed to deflect the punch before slamming the arm on Drenig's mech's shoulder into his head. The head did not pop up yet, but Lilly followed through with an uppercut to the head, which finished off Drenig's mech, and ended another winning streak.

"And Team Artic-Uno takes the lead with only one mech left to fight," Skree mentioned.

Drenig ejected from his mech and noticed that Lilly did the same thing. Lilly stood there, hoping Drenig would be a good sport. And what do you know, he was.

"Ay, good fight," Drenig said slowly, holding his claw out for a shake. Lilly returned the favor with a shake and a smile.

"Hey, if we get to keep the mechs, maybe we could have a rematch some day," Lilly stated.

Drenig went back to his group who was nodding their head in disapproval. ...But not at Drenig. They were instead nodding at Chauncey's mech. While they were disappointed at Drenig for not winning, they admired his effort.

"Good try out there Drenig," Dustin said.

"Glad you understand I did my best," Drenig said. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"We're kind of hoping we do lose," Kiki mentioned.

"Hey, don't speak for everyone," Wren mentioned. "You may not like Chauncey that much, but I know he can be a good person if he puts his heart to it. ...I just hope he realizes it soon enough."

It was then that Chauncey's mech finally made it to the field where Lilly was. Chauncey seemed to be pretty hungry for Lilly right now.

"So, it comes to this," Chauncey said. "I'll make you feel sorry for all you've put me through!"

"I AM sorry," Lilly stated. "I know me and Muffy got carried away, but..."

"It's too late Lilly," Chauncey said. "After all you have done to me, I will make you want me!"

"Chauncey... I didn't mean to hurt you," Lilly added.

"Well, you did," Chauncey said. "Now are we gonna fight or not?"

"Chauncey, I'm sorry..." Lilly started. "But you're way out of your head right now."

"I decide when I'm out of my head," Chauncey shouted. "Get ready to regret."

"...I'll hold you to that," Lilly said.

Eventually, the two mechs squared off. Lilly tried her old strategy of shooting at the legs, but Chauncey was going too fast for it to make much of a difference. Lilly then had to prepare for an attack, so she protected her head. ...But Chauncey aimed for the gut several times then backed away and watched Lilly's mech fall down.

"Yikes... he's dead serious," Lilly said.

"Am I good enough now?" Chauncey asked. "Quarantine like all societies favor the strong. I am strong! Girls love someone who's strong!"

Lilly then tried to right her mech up by bending the arms back, but Chauncey knocked her down again. He could have just hit the head, but now he was bullying.

"Get up Lilly," Chauncey yelled.

"I'm trying, you brute!" Lilly yelled.

After getting hit down a third time, Lilly tried something else firing upward at Chauncey's head. Chauncey, like anyone else who made wise moves at Rock-em' Sock-em' Golurks, blocked his head. He then fired his other arm down at Lilly's head.

"Say goodnight Lilly!" Chauncey yelled before firing shot after shot against Lilly's unprotected head. Since Lilly couldn't see Chauncey's mech, she didn't see the dodge balls coming at her mech's head. They eventually did enough damage to pop Lilly's mech's head off, shutting her mech down.

"Chauncey makes the fight count!" Arbiter yelled.

...But Chauncey wasn't through yet. As Lilly got out of her mech, Chauncey then started to stalk her. He then aimed a cannon at her and fired. Lilly swiftly dodged the shot, but was now freaked out.

"What the heck are you doing!?" Lilly yelled.

"Do you love me yet!" Chauncey yelled. Chauncey had gone mad right now.

"Chauncey, no!" Skree yelled. "No attacking people out of their mech! Go back to your position, we need to move Lilly's mech!"

But Chauncey wasn't listening. Chauncey kept firing more dodge balls at Lilly, scaring her all the way back to her group.

"Chauncey! Enough!" Arbiter yelled. "Do that any more and you will disqualify your team."

"Whatever," Chauncey shouted. "We already won anyway."

Except he forgot about one hungry Granbull. This hungry Granbull, in particular, was also very thirsty for Gallade humility.

"Not so fast, bully!" Muffy yelled from inside her mech. Chauncey turned his mech around and saw one remaining contestant. "Stop shooting my friend!"

"Bully!? Strong words from someone like you!" Chauncey yelled.

"I spent a part of my life being bullied," Muffy replied as Chauncey's mech went back to his starting position. "So I tried being the bully myself. But now I realize that didn't work for poor Muffy very well. Well THIS Muffy is done with bullying, and now she's standing up for her friends. So now, my teeth will sink right into your ego. Watch Muffy growl and cower! Grrrrrrrrrrrr!"

"Cute! But I'm not afraid of you," Chauncey yelled right before Arbiter started the match.

"Oh yeah!" Muffy yelled, charging right off at Chauncey. Lilly watched in horror at what Muffy was doing.

"Muffy, no! Not a blind charge!" She yelled out.

But she wasn't going to calm down. And surprisingly, she didn't need to. Chauncey realized he wasn't a very fast thinker, and Muffy's mech barreled at him like a bulldozer. Chauncey tried to thrust his mech's arm out to stop Muffy's mech, but Muffy uppercut the mech's arm, causing Chauncey's mech to lose balance. Then Muffy threw her other fist into Chauncey's mech, knocking it down.

"How about now?" Muffy asked over the intercom. "Grrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Chauncey was going through a range of emotions right now. He had both anger and fear in his mind. He tried getting up, but he kept messing up by tugging at the joysticks, which caused him to uppercut blindly in the air.

"Dang it, what am I doing?" Chauncey asked himself.

"Get up and lose like a man," Muffy yelled.

"Come on, I can do this," Chauncey said, finally managing to right his mech.

...But when he did, the fist of Muffy's mech flew right into the neck of the mech, sliding the mech backwards. Chauncey made his mech turn over before righting himself, but after he did, Muffy sent another shot at his mech's back.

"AHHHH! Stop that!" Chauncey yelled.

"How does it feel!?" Muffy yelled.

Chauncey spun his mech around with his mech's arm out, but Muffy sent another uppercut to the arm, throwing the mech off balance and sending it to the ground again.

"GAAAAH!" Chauncey then fired blindly in the air, hoping to hit Muffy's mech. Some of his shots ended up reaching Team Artic-Uno even.

"You say you love Lilly, yet you tried to harm her!?" Muffy yelled.

"I'm sorry!" Chauncey yelled.

"You should be!" Muffy yelled. "Darmanitan Slam!"

Muffy then caused her mech to bend and slam her arms down, knocking Chauncey's mech's arms away. Now the shots were firing at Team Zap-Dos.

"No! Have mercy!" Chauncey yelled. Chauncey was starting to regret his actions earlier.

Muffy righter her mech up and waited for Chauncey to do the same.

"Get up, wimp!" Muffy yelled.

Muffy cranked her mech's arm all the way back. Chauncey moved his arms down to sit up and the next thing he knew, Muffy's mech's fist went flying towards the mech head, hit it dead on and caused the coward's mech to jettison into the air. The head popped up mid-air and as the mech landed, Chauncey ejected from the mech into the mech's arm. After falling to the ground near the mech, Chauncey started to crawl. ...Into the arm of the mech, which lowered right on top of him.

"Lilly..." Chauncey started. In a few seconds, Chauncey started to cry. "Lilly! Why won't you love meeeehehehe."

"Team Artic-Uno wins the mech challenge!" Arbiter and Skree called out in unison.

"She did it?" Lilly asked rhetorically. "She did it! She beat Chauncey!"

Muffy then exited her mech and went over to Chauncey. She pushed the arm off Chauncey and helped him up.

"Do you feel more humble now?" Muffy asked Chauncey. Chauncey was still teary eyed, but Muffy wasn't gonna just let him stay hurt. She had more heart then that.

Meanwhile, everyone heard a faint clapping noise. It was Bertram, who was standing by Arbiter and Skree the entire time, watching the whole thing.

"Team Artic-Uno... quite an impressive showing," Bertram said. The entire team stood by Muffy and Chauncey.

"I can't believe it, we did it," Jet said, relieved he'd survive another day. Lilly couldn't help but walk over to her friend and the devastated Gallade and give Muffy a hug.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," Lilly said to Muffy before turning to Chauncey. She couldn't help but shake her head in pity. And yet, she couldn't find the words to say. Still, she did show a sense of sympathy towards him.

"Lilly..." Chauncey whined.

"Chauncey..." Lilly started. "It's not gonna happen. ...Just yet. But maybe one day, when you've learned more about love, we can start over. I know you're a good person deep down. I just hope you can recover that side of you."

"Lilly... do you like me?" Chauncey asked.

"There's still hope," Lilly said. Lilly wanted to be as kind as possible to the poor sap. She did not want to damage him any further.

**-One Shy of a Baker's Dozen-**

"Ugh, why did this have to be our reward?" Jet asked, looking down at their prize. "This isn't a reward, it's cruel and sick punishment!"

"...It's a cake," Lilly mentioned. Jet looked down at the decadent looking chocolate cake topped with strawberries and started to shy away.

"Yeah, well you don't have a figure to maintain," Jet said. "Me and Percy do."

"One slice isn't going to hurt us Jet," Percy mentioned.

"Sure, it starts with one slice!" Jet mentioned. "But then, then it turns into a second slice and then a third! Pretty soon you're consuming a weeks worth of calories in one sitting!"

"This is a six-piece cake," Muffy stated. "You're only going to have one slice."

"I still don't trust it," Jet said.

"Sit down and eat the stupid cake already!" Ruce yelled. "It's not gonna bite!"

"I... alright I guess," Jet said, sitting down for cake. Then, Lilly decided to converse.

"I wonder what's gonna happen to Chauncey after that," Lilly said.

"I know what's gonna happen to that whiny sap," Grant started. "They'll ANIHILATE HIM!"

"Probably, but..." Lilly started.

"They'll be nagging at him all night long about how he's a burden to the team," Grant stated. "Then they'll grind his broken heart into powder by telling him all the things he doesn't want to hear, inflicting more and more glorious pain into his soul! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"GRANT, SHUT UP!" Everyone yelled in unison.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Hey, what did I do?" Grant asked. "I just told like it is. I just used colorful details to add insult to injury. ...Because I'm that kind of Grumpig. ...I'm EEEEEeeeeevil. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! ...At least now I am. Though I do feel sorry for the sweet little boy I left in the dark. ...And for Abigale. ...Wait, did I say that out loud!? Delete that last comment from the video!"

-After Confessional-

Over at Team Zap-Dos, Wren, Aria, Chauncey and Betty the Nurse were in the bunkers while the others were away. Betty was using Healing Pulse on Chauncey after the wounds he suffered in the last challenge. Wren and Aria were talking to him.

"You feel better Chauncey?" Wren asked.

"I feel... I feel like a total fool," Chauncey said. "Why did I let my emotions get in the way?"

"We all have moments where we lose ourselves," Aria mentioned. "Personal demons many people call them.

"But we're here to help," Wren stated. "It's not too late to turn things around."

"No, if you are willing to fly straight, we can still use you on our team," Aria mentioned.

"I... I don't know," Chauncey said. "Do you think my team will forgive me?"

"I think so," Wren said. "Well... Maybe Dustin and Drenig. I don't think Kiki or Riley are going to. Speaking of which, I really would like to see Riley go home."

"Why?" Chauncey asked.

"He's still struggling to work in a team, but I know you can work in a team," Wren said.

"I don't know, Riley seems to be trying hard on teamwork," Aria said.

"Well... I still kind of don't like him," Wren said.

"I don't either," Aria said.

"I can still work in a team," Chauncey said. "And I will do that from now on. I'm going to forget about Lilly and focus on helping the team."

"You mean it?" Wren asked.

"Yes, I am going to focus on the game," Chauncey stated.

"That's good to hear," Wren said happily. "I'm going to go tell Dustin and Drenig the plan."

Wren found the two at the hunting grounds, where they were looking out to see under a Pinap tree on the beach of the Quarantine peninsula. Wren decided to talk to them about Chauncey and asked them to vote Riley instead.

"Thy sir Chauncey promises to let love lie?" Dustin asked. "Thy seems very doubtful of him."

"He said he promised to," Wren stated. "Plus, I still don't trust Riley on our team."

"Ay don't like Riley either to be frank," Drenig said. "But I don't know if Chauncey is going to fly straight or not."

"Come on, give him one more chance, please?" Wren asked.

"I... may consider it," Dustin said with a smile. "If he's truly gonna change, then I'm sure we can give him another chance."

"Yeah man, I'll put your words to heart," Drenig said.

"So we're in an agreement?" Wren asked.

"Now, I'm not making any promises," Dustin said.

"Me neither," Drenig added.

"But we will consider your opinion on the matter," Dustin finished.

"Thank you," Wren sad with a smile. "I hope you do vote for Riley today." And then, Wren ran off, back to the bunkers. It was almost time for the next Exile Chamber Ceremony.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

Dustin was holding up a slip of paper to the camera. The slip of paper had a name... Chauncey.

"I am most sorry brave Wren," Dustin started. "But sir Chauncey had his chances in this event. Thy does not believe he deserves one more. Please forgive me brave sir Wren."

-After Confessional-

Team Zap-Dos found their way back to the Quarantine Chamber. The sixth official Quarantine ceremony was about to begin. Everyone was given a glass of milk to drink. Chauncey saddly drank his while the rest of the team drank theirs normally.

"Well... today has been... interesting," Bertram said. "But here we are again at the Quarantine Chamber. It may not be a pleasant thought, but someone's gotta go home whether we want to send someone home or not. And if not your team, maybe the other team would be here again. And then..."

"Just get on with it," Aria blurted.

"Remember, if I don't call your name, you're gone for good. Now... Drenig is safe."

"Yeah!" Drenig exclaimed, shooting up from his seat. ...Then his pompadour fell down onto his snout. "Aww man," Drenig said before combing his pompadour again.

"Moving on... Kiki is safe," Bertram started again. "Aria is also safe. Wren will join Aria in the Pokemon NOT going home today... as will Dustin."

Wren looked at Chauncey and frowned. He wanted to give him another chance, but he doubted the others would so he didn't get his hopes up.

"Alright... the last person staying for now is." Bertram continued.

"...

...

...

...

...Riley."

"Awww..." Wren said, feeling a bit disappointing.

"Don't feel too bad Wren," Chauncey said. "After what I put the team through today, I deserve to go home. I know I shouldn't have let the rejection get to me, but I did. And now it can't be helped. ...I'm sorry for letting the team down."

Even the ones who voted for him felt sad for Chauncey. Chauncey went over to the Quarantine Chamber and waited for it to open. But before he could step in, someone called out.

"Wait!" Just then, Team Zap-Dos looked back and saw Lilly running up to the group. She ran past the group and over to Chauncey where she gave a look of disappointment.

"Where did she come from?" Kiki asked.

"She was watching the ceremony almost the entire time," Bertram stated. "I just didn't call her out."

"Lilly... what are you doing here?" Chauncey asked. "You came to rub it in?"

"No," Lilly said. "I... just wanted to say goodbye. ...And I'm sorry for the things me and Muffy have said to you that may have hurt your feelings. ...You're a nice person Chauncey and I hope you realize it. Maybe some day we will meet again. And on that day, maybe we can be friends." Lilly then decided to kiss Chauncey on the cheek and smiled. "Goodbye Chauncey..." Lilly then ran off, back down to the team she belonged to.

"She... she kissed me," Chauncey said. "She likes me... She really likes me!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Bertram said before walking over to Chauncey.

Bertram eventually walked over to Chauncey and shoved him into the Quarantine Chamber, then closed the door on him. As the gas filled the chamber, you could barely make out a tear in Chauncey's eye.

"Goodbye Lilly! I'll never forget you!" These were Chauncey's last words before he vanished into nothing. This marked the end of another ceremony. And eventually, we turned to Bertram who started shedding tears into a hanky. ...Although it was questionable whether they were sincere tears or he was just playing along.

"What a touching ceremony," Bertram said as Team Zap-Dos in the background started to leave. "I don't think we'll ever have a ceremony as powerful as this one. ...And I really hope we don't. Next episode is looking to be less emotional. Tune in next episode for another challenge, and until then, we say...

"Yahahahaha! YAAAAA-Hahahahahahahaaaa!" The chilling laugh from three challenges ago returned to haunt Bertram.

"Oh, not again," Bertram said. "That's right, next episode will mark the next encounter with Dagger Eyes. Until then, we say goodbye for now."

**-Next Time On Quarentine-**

_"Please welcome the newest addition to my ranks: PANDORA!"_

_The contestants have their second encounter with Dagger Eyes._

_"My darkness is unblindable."_

_...Where they are challenged by Hespute, Dagger's second general, and his army of ghost Pokemon._

_"I aint afraid of no ghosts."_

_Contestants must infiltrate the mansion Hesput calls home._

_"This one's gonna be a hair-raiser."_

_Armed with nothing but spray-guns filled with potion, they will take on a challenge they haven't faced yet._

_"I'm not like Vower. I'm MUCH more hungry!"_

_All this and more in the next chapter of Quarantine: Who ya gonna call?_


	8. Chapter 8: Who ya gonna call?

Chapter 8: Who ya gonna call?

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"I can't let my shape diminish, it's all I have."_

_Jet thrived to be the best monster he could be._

_"You only care about your own place in the competition! You're even more evil than me!"_

_So he prepared major league for the next challenge._

_"I thought you said books were boring."_

_...Oh come on, you know you'd rather be reminded of Lilly and Chauncey's relationship._

_"Lilly! Mark my words. I will prove to you that I am right for you!"_

_In the mech challenge, Jet and Drenig both dominated on their teams._

_"Ha! That's THEE fat crock to you! And don't forget his cool hair either!"_

_And we had a major fight between Lilly and Chauncey._

_"After all you have done to me, I will make you want me!"_

_But it was Muffy who defended her friend and defeated Chauncey to win the game._

_"Watch Muffy growl and cower! Grrrrrrrrrrrr!"_

_Afterward, Chauncey promised to shape up and be more helpful..._

_"No, if you are willing to fly straight, we can still use you on our team." _

_...But Chauncey had ran out of chances, leading to the most... touching elimination yet._

_"Maybe some day we will meet again. And on that day, maybe we can be friends."_

_The pie's been sliced in thirds, and one slice has been finished, leaving two slices left to be devoured. Who will be the last drop of filling to survive?_

**-Mespute's Power Gluttony-**

Dawn was breaking on another morning in Quarantine. All the contestants were asleep in their bunkers. Each team had their mechs from the challenge stored out front in the Quarantine grounds. No one knew what would happen first thing.

But the contestants would soon find out. Lurking around all the mechs were swarms of oddly colored Duskulls. These strange Duskulls also had strands of grass coming out of the top of their heads. It seemed these creatures were zombies. But what were they doing around the mechs.

"So what did master Mespute want us to do again?" one of the Duskulls in the group asked.

"Destroy each of these mechs," another responded. "I thought that was obvious."

"Don't question, just do it," another stated.

"You ever hear about the last time one of us crossed Mespute?" a fourth one asked. "He became the lunch of Mespute's pal."

"You mean Vower?" the third asked.

"No! HIS pal!" the fourth responded.

"You don't mean... Gulp, do you?" a fifth asked.

"Exactly!" the fourth answered. "No one wants to cross Hespute, or they have to deal with Gulp!"

"I hear Gulp could fit Vower in his mouth," the third mentioned.

"And he especially likes GHOSTS!" the fifth one added.

"Okay, blow the mechs up," the first one finished.

Each of the Duskulls went inside each of the mechs. Shortly after they did, static charged all through the mechs, and pretty soon, each of the mechs blew up. The sound they created could be heard all the way from the bunkers. Each of the teams woke up to the loud crash.

"What was that?" Grant asked. "That sounded like... chaos! Where's the chaos?"

"That sounds anything but good," Muffy added.

"Okay, but what just happened?" Ruce asked.

Eventually, their questions were answered as Bertram came onto the screen.

"Ugh, every time I think I get a one-up on Dagger Eyes, he blows our mechs up!" Bertram said.

"Wait! What?" Grant asked. "Nooooo! My doom machine!"

"And those mechs weren't cheap, either," Bertram said. "Now we have to think of another way to fight them. So now I'm at Savil's cave discussing ...ut ... ..xt pla. .. .tta.. .ga... ..."

"It's going staticy again," Jet pointed out.

"No... I could have told you that," Lilly said.

Eventually, someone came onto the screen. It probably wasn't Dagger Eyes, but it didn't look too friendly. It was a pale green Dusknoir.

"Hespute..." Percy muttered.

"Very good ugly and fat one," The Dusknoir named Hespute said. His comment made Percy look at himself after letting go of his waist. "You've done well in liberating Derek Bower, but you still have four confidants to fight yet. And I am next. I'm not like Vower. I'm MUCH more hungry!"

The screen scrolled down to Hespute's belly where Hespute had his hands placed firmly above what appeared to be a giant laughing mouth. In fact, his whole belly seemed to be a head in itself.

"Dusknoirs... are... creepy," Ruce said.

"FOUR confidants!" Lilly asked. "Bertram only mentioned you and Gola. Who are the other two."

"Oh gee! He actually mentioned me for once!" Suddenly, the screen cut to a rather angry Dragonite. "I'm Gola! I am the strongest of all Dagger Eyes generals!"

"Uh, it would be wise not to forget me," Eventually the camera cut to another creature floating right between Hespute and Gola. It was a familiar looking Hypno.

"Medula!" Lilly shouted.

Over at Zap-Dos, they were filled with questions too.

"Should have known you were one of the generals," Kiki stated.

"Wait a minute..." Aria stopped. "I get the names Vower and Medula, but... What the heck do the names Hespute and Gola mean."

"The name Gola means NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Gola yelled.

"What's wrong with having disconnected names?" Hespute asked.

"I just find it odd," Aria added. "I also see a pattern among the ranks. Vower was the serious one, Hespute's the joker, Gola's the angry one..."

"ANGRY! I'm perfectly calm!" Gola yelled.

"...And Medulla is the smart and quiet one," Aria finished.

"Aw man, but who's the last one?" Drenig asked.

"Hey! Down here!" A voice yelled below Medulla.

"Who was that?" Kiki asked.

"Perhaps **I **could answer that!" Eventually everyone moved out of the way and Dagger Eyes made himself known. Like last time, all you could see where his glowing eyes.

"Ugh, it's that thing again," Dustin added. "...Is it a he or a she or... or an it?"

"I think it's a he," Wren stated.

"My vote's on IT," Aria mentioned.

"Hello? Screen time wanted!" the voice called out again.

"Where are my manners?" Dagger Eyes. "Please welcome the newest addition to my ranks. His name is... PANDORA!"

We then scroll down the screen to see a strange creature cloaked in all sorts of clothing. It looked like the creature was a Pangoro, but it was hard to tell. It looked awfully big and strong, though.

"Dahahahaha! I get it, cause he's a panda," Aria stated.

Riley shot a glance back at the loudmouthed squid and shook his head. Something about her was not sitting right with him.

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Does that useless creature ever shut up?" Riley asked. "That's all she's done the entire show is make sarcastic comments, and now I'm just about to my breaking point with her."

-After Confessional-

"Sweet precious Quarantine," Pandora started. "How I long for revenge against that ugly beaver and his STUPID minions!"

"I prefer the term disciple," Kiki mentioned.

"No, you will accept the term minions," Pandora said.

"Pandora is a recent addition to my ranks," Dagger eyes stated. "Gola and Medulla put him through the works, they did. But overall, he will do just nicely."

"Really," Aria said sarcastically. "He wants revenge for... what exactly?"

"Bertram has done him a wrong-doing," Dagger Eyes mentioned. "Naturally, Pandora is hungry for revenge."

"But not as hungry as I, master," Hespute mentioned.

"That didn't answer the question," Kiki stated.

"Silence! A magician never reveals his secrets," Pandora stated.

"Why? What's the big deal?" Drenig asked.

"He said silence, fool!" Dagger Eyes yelled.

"There's something fishy about that Pandora guy," Wren stated.

"You may have beaten Vower AND escaped my prison," Dagger Eyes stated. "But WE destroyed your mechs! Now you can't attack our home base with those beauts. And I aint telling you where our base is either."

"I'm sure Bertram will magically find a way," Aria mentioned.

"Ugh, shut up," Riley said.

"Come on, you have to admit this is cheesy," Aria said.

"No one cares," Riley said. "We came to play a game. If you came her to poke fun, then why are you here?"

"...I wanted to win the prize for our choir group," Aria said.

"Yeah, we all have hopes and dreams," Riley said. "We're here to play, now shut up."

"Jeeze, what a sourpuss," Aria stated.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Ugh, that Riley just won't leave will he?" Aria asked. "I'm surprised people can even put up with his stuck-up attitude. Is he like this at home?"

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Dagger Eyes and his crew left the screen, and Bertram came back. With him was the witch doctor Savil.

"Ha! I think we have figured out how to revert the ghosts!" Bertram said. "But we'll have to be direct with this one."

"What? No creative ways of beating them like last time?" Aria asked. "Just boring straight-forward direct approaches?"

"I said shut up!" Riley yelled.

"You'll have to do the usual morning routine first," Bertram stated. "But when you're done, you must return to Savil's cave where we will discuss the plan of actions."

"And you can't tell us now because?" Kiki asked.

"Because I'm sure you're all very hungry right now," Bertram said. "And I am sure you would all..."

"No, not really," Wren said.

"Well... it doesn't make much of a difference," Bertram stated. "I'd just rather you have a chance to catch your bearings. I mean, who would you rather have? The nice, kind Bertram who lets you do as you please? Or the big badguy Bertram who gives orders all the time!?"

"I think badguy Bertram is cute," Aria mentioned. "Because the thought of taking a Bibarel seriously..."

"ENOUGH!" Riley roared.

"Thank you Riley," Bertram said with a smile. "Be sure to do that regularly."

Bertram immediately logged off the screens, letting the two teams wonder what was going on. All they knew was they had to make breakfast and then meet Bertram at Savil's cave.

Over at Artic-Uno's hunting grounds, Jet and Percy were both running. Percy was trying his hardest to keep up.

"Come on, Percy! You're not losing steam already are you?" Jet asked.

"I don't *pant* do this *weeze* very often," Percy excused. "Can't we just *pant* go hunting?"

"You want to work off that belly fat, don't you?" Jet asked.

"Well, yeah, but..." Percy started.

"But nothing!" Jet exclaimed. "Let's get moving!"

With that, Jet and Percy kept running. It felt like Jet was pushing Percy too hard. But eventually, they stopped running and got to business.

"Okay, NOW let's get to hunting," Jet said. "I brought my spear, did you bring yours?"

"Yeah, my tail has it," Percy said.

"Percy! That's using your abilities!" Jet yelled.

"Oh right, sorry," Percy said before dropping the spear on the ground.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"With all the rule breaking going on in Quarantine, it's a miracle no one's been disqualified yet," Jet mentioned. "Perhaps it's because we haven't had any MAJOR offenses yet. Though I bet this is going to come up very soon."

-After Confessional-

"Okay, first we do stretches," Jet mentioned. "Take your spear with both hands, squat down, then stand up and thrust your spear skyward."

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Because it's a warm-up exercise," Jet mentioned. "It helps with our performance."

They both started doing squats with their spears in hand. They each squatted alternatively to the other.

"I don't see the point, but okay," Percy said. "So how many do we have to do?"

"At least a hundred squats, then we hunt," Jet said.

"That sounds like a lot of squats," Percy mentioned.

"Not if you squat really quickly," Jet said. "One squat only takes a couple of seconds. If you're fast you can do a squat a second. Should take us three or so minutes."

"Sounds easy enough," Percy mentioned.

"Yeah, you're right," Jet mentioned. "Let's do a thousand squats then."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked. "...Oh boy."

While Percy and Jet were doing squats, Muffy and Lilly were picking berries as usual, and Ruce... was with Grant. Grant was standing in the wreckage of all the mechs.

"No... Why did this have to happen?" Grant asked. "I could have conquered the world with this thing."

"Yeah, except you had eleven other mech users who would have stopped you from doing so," Ruce mentioned.

"Hello... what do we have here?" Grant asked, zooming in on a bunch of tiny tubes and orbes. "These... are perfect! My supports! Excellent!"

"Right, supports to that super special deadly ultimate destructo robot of doom fashioned with the shells of a newly discovered fruit supposedly brought to this world by a non-existent creature," Ruce stated.

"You mock the ultimate destructo robot of DOOOOOOOM!" Grant yelled. "But I assure you that one day I WILL RULE ALL! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"...Fascinating," Ruce stated.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"If I had a giant robot to control," Ruce started. "The first thing I'd do is find out who got my sister eliminated and then squash them with my giant robot. Yeah, I'm still thinking of my sister, because she will NOT go unavenged."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Oh, don't mind me," Grant started. "I'm just a harmless little Grumpig pretending to be an evil genius. Nothing out of the ordinary."

-After Confessional-

The teams had made breakfast and now set out for Savil's cave again. That was where all the questions about Hespute would be answered.

**-Ghost Duskers-**

"Okay, so... what's the deal?" These were the first words made by a contestant upon assembling the cave. Kiki was the one to ask.

"Please allow us to introduce our newest creation," Bertram said before he and Savil held up a bunch of bug-spray guns. "Behold: Ghost Cougher!"

"...They're a bunch of fumigators," Aria mentioned.

"No, the invention of ours is inside the fumigators," Savil mentioned.

"But these are your fumigators," Bertram said before handing a spray-gun to each contestant. Savil did the same before going back to her position and pulling out one more gun off a table.

"OUR invention is this," Savil said before spraying the air. A blast of pinkish-purple for shot out into the air. "Through careful experimentation, we have converted our potion into gas form."

"Once again, you're welcome," Grant stated.

"We made the potion, YOU gave orders," Muffy responded.

"Actually, if I remember correctly Grant DID help with actually stiring the potion correctly so he kind of did help make it," Ruce mentioned.

"Thank you minion," Grant said before patting Ruce on the head.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"If I hear the word "minion" one more time," Ruce started. "Someone is going swimming on our next hunting trip."

-After Confessional-

"Now, what makes this gas super special," Bertram started. "This gas is useable on ghosts. Ghosts cannot drink a liquid or eat a solid. ...Not willingly anyway. But a gas is perfect for the, as it can enter their body without permission, and there's nothing they can do about it cause they aren't fully solid."

"And remember to watch out for Gulp," Savil mentioned. "Consider Gulp to be..."

"Oh, you mean Hespute's..." Aria started.

Bertram slammed his cane into the ground again and brought down a thunderbolt near Aria, startling her before she could finish her sentence. Kiki kind of giggled at it.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I know I've said this before, but Aria is funny," Kiki said. "It's always thrilling to hear her say something dumb and then watch the consequences of her words."

-After Confessional-

"As I was saying..." Savil started.

"Not to criticize your hosting abilities," Jet started. "But why do you get use abilities and not us?"

"Yeah, things would be a bit more realistic if you couldn't summon thunderbolts, Bertram," Lilly added.

"Nothing is stopping me from summoning other things," Bertram stated. "It's because I'm not the one who's TRYING to be realistic. I am not competing, I can use abilities all I want."

"I wish I could though," Riley stated. "Cause frankly I'm in the mood for some fried calamari right now."

"Riley, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Kiki asked.

"A little... I guess," Riley stated.

"AS I was saying..." Savil started, getting a bit frustrated.

"I still think that's a bit unfair," Jet said.

"It's fair for the other contestants who don't have such abilities like Dustin," Bertram said.

"Hey! We Watchogs can be just as powerful as..." Dustin started.

"Enough! Let Savil speak," Bertram shouted.

"Thank you," Savil said. "Now, as I was saying..."

"You got a beef against Watchogs?" Dustin asked.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Savil made a chilling cry that could be heard all the way from the bunkers. "ENOUGH DISTRACTIONS! LET ME TALK ALREADY!"

"Yeah man," Drenig started. "Let's just all calm down and listen to Savil. ...Continue?" After a long pause, Savil finally got back to talking.

"Finally..." Savil started. "As I was saying, consider Gulp to be Hesput's closes friend."

"Yes, very close inde..." Aria started

"Aria, I'd really refrain from talking," Wren said. "You could get hit by lightning."

"Right, sorry," Aria said.

"Gulp is the real danger here, not Hespute," Aria said. "Hespute feeds all his victims to Gulp, and he keeps his victims locked in bird cages in his mansion. ...The thing is... no one know's who Gulp is."

"It's his..." Aria started. "No, wait. Bite your tongue Aria." Aria then literally bit her tongue.

"Good choice," Bertram snarked.

"But... there are clues all over his mansion," Savil said. "If you can figure out who Gulp is, inject as much potion gas as you can, and Hespute will lose all power."

"Only Varmy knows where his mansion is," Bertram mentioned.

"Varmy?" Percy asked. "Isn't he that curmudgeonly Swoobat who grows all those big roots?"

"Well, someone must have eaten their vitamins this morning," Bertram complimented. "Yes, that's is exactly who it is."

"We know the mansion is somewhere in the jungles," Savil started. "Problem is... we don't know where. But Varmy does so seek him out."

"Remember, Hespute's mansion will be crawling with ghosts," Bertram mentioned. "In fact their should be some outside his mansion. Keep those guns loaded."

"Before you go," Savil said before she went back to the table and picked up a bunch of bags filled with round gun-cases. "Take these satchels with you. They have Ghost Cougher refills in case your gun runs out of gas."

"Anyone even know HOW to change these guns?" Kiki asked.

"There's nothing to it," Drenig started. "You just have to..."

"Listen, you guys really should hurry," Bertram stated. "After all, Hespute is not going to wait forever. He could be back with his legion of ghosts."

"Ay'll tell ya on the way," Drenig said. "Let's motor on out before the other team does."

"Wait a minute, how do we win?" Muffy asked.

"The first team to find Gulp and revert him is the winning team," Bertram said.

"Got it!" everyone said in unison. Eventually, both teams were gone.

Artic-Uno had no problems finding where they needed to go. They had Percy leading the group.

"Remember, the jungle and Varmy's house are along the Quarantine fence line," Percy stated. "We follow the fence, we will arrive at Varmy's in no time HEY!"

As Percy was talking, Jet hopped onto his shoulders. What did Jet have planned here.

"You might be able to burn more calories by carrying more weight," Jet said. "Besides, someone needs to be the look-out."

"YOU would probably burn more calories hopping instead of riding on someone else," Percy returned.

"AHCK!" Jet cried before jumping off Percy and hopping faster. "Gotta burn the calories I just gained."

"Ugh, what a schizoid," Percy commented. Percy tried pumping his fists up and lifting his legs higher while walking. It's generally what runners do to get the most out of their exercise.

Meanwhile, the girls and Grant were talking about things. Muffy didn't notice it, but Chauncey wasn't with the other team.

"So... I take it they eighty-sixed that poor Gallade," Muffy asked.

"Yup, no more moochy-mughead," Lilly stated. "It's gonna be more peaceful without him around."

"I can't help but wonder what his problem was," Muffy stated.

"I think he just lost his better judgement," Lilly stated. "He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting me. Sometimes it's easy to lose yourself, but most people have better control over it."

Meanwhile, Ruce and Grant were trailing behind. Ruce was asking Grant about his robot.

"So... you're robot finished yet?" Ruce asked.

"I haven't tested it out yet," Grant mentioned. "But I assure it will be plenty strong enough."

"Right," Ruce stated. "By the way, have you found out anything about who planted the page?"

"I... I'm afraid I haven't even the slightest clue," Grant said. "I spent so much time thinking about all the evil potions I could be brewing that I forgot to look into it more."

"Maybe it IS Jet," Ruce mentioned. "He was the one who suggested getting rid of the weak."

"Yeah, but that's not evidence," Grant added. "I want to know more about this "Gulp" character now and his ties to Hespute."

"Yeah, now that I think of it, who is Gulp?" Ruce asked aloud. "Any ideas?"

"Has Hespute ever introduced him to us?" Lilly asked.

"And what's with the anatomy?" Muffy asked. "So which one's the head? The body or the top?"

"Huh, that's a good question," Lilly stated. "They're probably both part of the head. I think the eyes on a Dusknoir's body are fake."

"I... I suppose so," Muffy stated.

"How far away do you think the other team is?" Grant asked.

"Huh... I don't actually know," Percy said.

Over at Team Zap-Dos, they were comparably far in the jungle. Aria was trying to speak to the group, but Riley kept stopping her.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say," Aria said.

"No one cares," Riley mentioned.

"Why not, it could be important," Aria said.

"It's not!" Riley yelled.

"What if I told you I knew..." Aria started.

"Shut up!" Riley yelled.

"Now Riley, don't you think we actually should let her speak?" Kiki asked. "For all you know, it could be."

"How do you guys put up with her?" Riley asked.

"Well, she's my friend," Wren said.

"I think her sarcasm's kind of amusing," Kiki stated.

"Hey, I thought I was going to teach you guys how to reload the guns," Drenig blurted out.

"Dang, now that you mention it Drenig, that's a good idea," Kiki said.

"Oh good lord, there's a button on the gun that releases a latch holding the cartrige in," Aria interupted.

"You know, I said I would do it," Drenig mentioned. "And then take the magazine rack off the gun and slide the new cartrige into place."

"I'm just saying it's kind of obvious," Aria mentioned.

"Aria, what has gotten into you?" Wren mentioned.

"I suppose I was being a bit rude," Aria said.

"Ya! You were," Drenig stated.

"Thy should press onward," Dustin said. "I think we're almost there."

"Honestly, I think sir L.A.R. P.-alot is even more annoying," Kiki mentioned.

"Sir L.A.R. P.-alot!?" Dustin asked?

"Guys, if we keep fighting, they'll beat us there," Wren said. "We gotta stick together."

"Wren's right, we really should get going," Kiki said.

"Goody two-shoes," Riley muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?" Wren asked Riley.

"Nothing," Riley hided.

Because of the arguing on Team Zap-Dos, Artic-Uno made it to Varmy's home first. He was sleeping on the pole outside his house.

"Maybe me, Jet and Ruce should back away," Percy stated. "He knows us and will try to attack us."

"Right," Ruce replied. Ruce, Jet, and Percy backed off into the distance, leaving Lilly, Muffy and Grant to talk to Varmy. But first...

"Okay, I am telling you this now Grant," Muffy started. "Keep your mouth shut. None of that evil nonsense, okay?"

"Grant the Dastardly takes orders from no one," Grant said. But then, Muffy growled at him. He was singing a different tune. "Okay," he replied in a high-pitched tone."

"Uhhh... excuse me?" Lilly asked. ...Varmy didn't respond. "Uhhh, excuse me?"

"Eh, what?" Varmy said, groggy from his sleep. He then used echolocation to detect the three. "Argh, more thieves! Always after my big roots. My big roots! MINE!"

"Calm down, we're not after your roots," Muffy stated. "We just want to know where Hespute's mansion is."

"Hespute? You mean the landlord?" Varmy asked.

"Uhhh... sure. The landlord," Lilly said.

"Ohh, not too far from here, except..." Varmy started to stutter. "I wouldn't go near there if you can't fly."

"Please, we can handle it," Muffy said.

"But the trees," Varmy mentioned. "You can't go up to the mansion without having to battle the trees."

"We're all set," Grant said. "My latest will stop them cold."

Lilly tapped Muffy on the shoulder. Muffy turned her head and Lilly shook hers.

"Just go with it," Lilly said. "As long as he doesn't mention the roots."

"What was that about roots!?" Varmy asked. "You're trying to steel my roots!"

"We're not here to steal your roots," Lilly said. "We just want to see the landlord."

"Ack! More of them?" Varmy asked, pointing at the incoming Zap-Dos members. Using his echolocation again, he read the figures.

"Uhhh, greetings Varmy," Kiki started. "We wish to..."

"YOU!" Varmy yelled. "YOU TWO! You stole my root!"

"Uhhhh..." Kiki stuttered.

"The big guy and the flaily one!" Varmy yelled, referring to Drenig and Aria. "GIVE ME BACK MY ROOT!"

"Uhhh, we'd love to, but..." Aria started.

"No, we got it right here," Drenig said, going toward the pots. "We're putting it back now."

"You don't have no root in your hands!" Varmy yelled. "I may be near-sighted but I'm not blind! Give me back my root!"

"We... don't have it," Aria said. "We..."

"The Pancham stole it!" Drenig excused, using quick thinking to find a way out. "We were gonna give it back, but then that kid took it and now the kid probably took it home with him."

"Dah! I'll find that Pancham and teach him a thing or two!" Vermy yelled.

"Before you do so, mind telling us about Hespute's mansion?" Kiki asked.

"We are on a quest!" Dustin proclaimed.

"Not another group marching to their deaths," Varmy said.

"It's okay, they got my latest too," Grant said.

"You're what-now?" Riley called out.

"Play along," Lilly stated.

"Okay, but it's your funeral," Varmy stated. "Just a mile or two behind my home. You really can't miss it with all the evil ghost trees."

"Evil ghost trees?" Wren asked.

"Thanks for the advice," Kiki stated.

"We'll just be on our way," Lilly said. Eventually, both teams started to trek off. Eventually Percy, Jet and Ruce joined the rest of the group and went off to Hespute's mansion to find him and fumigate his closest friend: Gulp.

Eventually, both teams found Hespute's mansion and it was huge. Varmy wasn't kidding when he said you couldn't miss it. Teams tread carefully up to the estate.

"Varmy mentioned something about ghost trees," Ruce mentioned.

"The trees do look pretty ghoulish," Muffy added.

"I doth not fear the undead," Dustin mentioned.

Suddenly, the trees started to move. Not only that, but you could even see eyes and mouths coming off the trees. They even had arms too. Also, there bark was pale green and covered in swamp grass. They weren't trees, they were zombie Trevenants.

"Okay, maybe thee fears the undead just a little," Dustin said.

"Oh for the love of, just spray them," Aria said, brandishing her gun.

"Time to test... THE DEVICE!" Grant yelled before going to town on all of the Trevenants.

"Ready, aim, FIRE!" Drenig called out on his team.

Eventually, the team sprayed all of the Trevenants coming at them. Every single one that got sprayed stopped dead in their tracks. There swamp grass fell off and their skin seemed to change color as they all wiped themselves. Obviously it was green paint.

"They seem calm now," Lilly mentioned.

"Do they talk?" Muffy asked.

"Yes, we quite do," one of the Trevenants said. "Who are you?"

"We are the ones who just freed you from zombification," Percy mentioned.

"Call us the Liberators," Jet said. Percy picked Jet up by his head and set him aside.

"We are here to free all the ghosts from Hespute and Gulp," Percy mentioned. "Do you know who Gulp is?"

"Oh PLEASE, it's obviously..." Aria started before being once again cut off.

"Stop trying to ruin the game for us!" Riley yelled.

"Do you want to win or not?" Aria asked.

"Why don't you save it for when our team is alone?" Kiki mentioned.

"No! Keep it to yourself," Riley shouted.

"What's their problem?" the Trevenant talking to Percy asked.

"I... am not sure really," Percy said. "I take it two of their members have a lot of issues to settle."

"But anyway, I'm afraid we have no idea who Gulp is," the Trevenant stated. "All we know is that he eats Hespute's henchmen who disobey them. He takes the ghosts into a room behind his throne room and all you can hear is a scream."

"Oh come on! It's so obvious!" Aria shouted.

"That's what we'll have to go by for now," Lilly stated. "Thank you."

Eventually, both teams started at the mansion as the Trevenants moved away from them.

"Well... time to brave the fortress," Dustin said.

"Don't worry, I'll be behind you always," Drenig mentioned.

"Together we fight as one!" Dustin cried.

"...One?" Lilly asked.

"We're not on your team, we fight for our own," Ruce mentioned.

"Then together we fight as TWO!" Dustin yelled. "Onward!"

Both teams entered the mansion to face the challenge ahead. But there would be no guarantees of an easy travel.

**-Please, Don't Mansion It-**

Upon entering the mansion, it first seemed quite normal. It was very quiet, nothing was moving, but it was very dark inside. There was a big stairway leading upstairs that branched out into different paths.

"So... ghosts?" Jet asked. "This place is supposed to be crawling with them."

"I aint afraid of no ghosts," Muffy stated.

"You may not be saying that if you come face to face with one," Drenig stated.

"Look, on the ground," Wren said, pointing to two rugs on the ground. There was a blue one and a yellow one. A long ways away from the rug were two doorways: one for each team.

"I aint touching that rug," Aria said. "It seems fishy."

"She does have a point," Lilly said. "Why would their be rugs of our team colors here? It's like Hespute was expecting us."

"Let's just go through the doors then," Percy said.

Both teams did so. Upon entering the halls, they noticed two doors at the end of the hallway. The doors said "All six must step on the rugs to proceed."

"I still don't trust the rugs," Aria said,

"No one cares," Riley stated.

"Let's try the stairs then," Drenig suggested.

Both teams had the same idea. Eventually, they backed out of the hallway and went up the stairs. ...But when the contestants took one step on the stairs, the step immediately gave way. Kiki's foot almost got trapped inside.

"You know those games where an NPC asks a question and repeats the question till you pick the desired choice?" Dustin ask. "I have a feeling this is like that."

"You mean we HAVE to step on the rugs?" Ruce asked.

"Exactly," Dustin stated. "The challenge won't progress until we do."

"Well... if it's part of the challenge," Lilly said, walking over to the blue rug. "We all have to stand on the rug."

"Wait... can we huddle up?" Aria asked.

"Get real!" Riley said before going to the rug.

"No, this is important," Aria said.

"Can we just humor her?" Wren asked.

"Yeah, okay," Kiki said before huddling up with Wren and Aria.

"You're actually listening to her Kiki?" Riley asked. "She's a lunatic, she doesn't know what she's talking about."

"They're getting ahead of us, guys," Drenig stated.

All the Artic-Uno members stood on the blue rug. The next thing to happen was exactly what you'd expect to happen: a trapdoor opened up below the rug, swallowing the entire Artic-Uno team down into a pit.

"I KNEW THIS WAS A TRAAAAAAAAP!" Muffy yelled as she was falling.

Aria started to laugh at the other team. She then looked at the doorways and noticed the Artic-Uno door DID open up, and so did the Zap-Dos door.

"Well Riley? Am I a lunatic now?" Aria asked.

"Pfft, you got lucky," Riley said.

It was Aria's plan all along to make the other team go first to see what would happen. But Riley was being too thick-headed to listen.

"Riley, don't you think you should be more supportive?" Kiki asked as they started walking down their hallway.

"You have to admit though, her sarcasm really is ruining the game," Riley said.

"Sorry," Aria mentioned. "We all have things we try to keep inside but we blurt out anyway."

"You should try learning better control," Riley said. "If all you have to contribute to this team is sarcasm, you don't have much of a reason to be here."

"I do see the point you're making Riley," Kiki mentioned. "But I still think you're being too hard on her."

"Sometimes you have to be tough," Riley mentioned. "You know that better than anyone, and that's why I actually have quite a lot of respect for you."

"Hmmmm..." Kiki stuttered.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I've heard Riley mention that he does have lots of respect for me," Kiki mentioned. "I'm just not sure how much I respect him. He does have his strong points, but he's also a bit anti-social too."

-Confessional Session(Riley)-

"Sure I'm a little hard on Aria," Riley said. "But she's been doing this through-out the entire compotition. Every time she has an excuse to criticize the show, it's plot, it's characters, it's challenges, or whatever else makes the show, she will use that excuse."

-After Confessional-

This challenge was the pits for Team Artic-Uno. ...Get it? They had just fallen into a soft pit filled with foam blocks.

"Ugh, stupid pitfall," Muffy shouted.

"Don't worry, there has to be a way out," Percy said. "We just have to go further. Look, there's a dimly lit hallway over there."

"Ha ha! Evil has no fear!" Grant said before trudging through the blocks into the hallway.

Past the hallway was a dirty floor with lots of webs filled with primitive-Spinaraks and Joltiks. There were coffins everywhere. The other members followed him into the room.

"See? No fear!" Grant exclaimed. ...But suddenly he went over to a coffin, and out of the coffin popped out a ghoulish Dusclops. Grant dropped his gun in fear and started to shiver, but tried not to scream.

"Yargh!" Ruce yelled before spraying the Dusclops with the spray. The Dusclops relaxed its arms and straightened it's posture afterward.

"Ha! See? I stared death in the face and I almost laughed," Grant said.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

You could see Grant was sucking on his thumb-hoof while grabbing his legs with his arm. But after a while he looked at the camera and tried to pretend he wasn't doing anything of the sort.

"Ha! I'm just kidding, that ghost didn't scare me," Grant stated before a long pause. "...Yes it did. I guess evil does have fears."

-After Confessional-

"Huh, you're a strange bunch," the Dusclops said. "Where... where am I?"

"Uh, hello," Percy greeted. "You are in Hespute's mansion."

"Hespute? The guy with the belly mouth?" the Dusklops asked. "I want one of those when I grow up."

"That's beside the point," Lilly mentioned. "Do you know anything about Gulp?"

"Ah, Gulp..." The Dusknoir said. "They say Gulp lives in the back room of Hespute's study, but no one's gotten a look. I hear two Duskulls tried to, but they were caught and eaten. No one knows what they saw."

"How do you get to Hespute's studdy from here?" Percy asked.

"Easy," the Dusklops started. "There's a manual elevator shaft over should take you to the second floor. His study is on the third though, but there's a big door guarding it so it will be easy to find."

"Any... ghosts we have to deal with?" Grant asked.

"The second floor should be crawling with Duskulls," the Dusklops mentioned.

"Great, we have some action to look forward to," Jet said.

"Speak for yourself," Lilly said.

"I... think maybe I should go ahead in front," Muffy said. "This would be a good chance to conquer my fears."

"Coming from someone who said they weren't afraid of ghosts," Grant mentioned.

"Like the Krookodile said, I might be saying differently if I face one," Muffy said.

"Maybe I should go with you," Percy said. "I can handle a few stage ghosts. After all, there will be surprises everywhere in the mansion, but there won't be any real dangers so don't be too upset."

"Well... Okay," Muffy agreed. The group walked over to the shaft and had Muffy and Percy pull their team up.

"After all, we better hurry because the others could very much be ahead," Percy mentioned as they pulled themselves up.

Over with Team Zap-Dos, they were looking through a hallway filled with all kinds of Pokemon armor.

"Man these armors are big," Wren stated.

"Just keep those spray guns handy," Drenig mentioned. "The armor might contain ghosts."

"Look, there's a big set of Emboar armor guarding that door," Kiki mentioned, pointing to a big door guarded my giant Emboar armor with a lance.

"ATTAAAAAACK!" Dustin yelled.

"Dustin, shut up!" Kiki yelled.

"Incidentally, anyone want to..." Aria started.

"No!" Riley shouted.

"But we're alone now, Artic-Uno is nowhere to be found," Aria said.

"Yes Aria, please tell us what you know," Kiki said.

"Well, I have a pretty good idea of where Gulp could be found," Aria started. "You see... Uhhh..."

Suddenly, the giant Emboar armor started to move.

"Uh oh, things are getting serious," Wren stated. "Quick, someone spray the armor!"

Drenig stepped forward and shot the armor with the fumes. ...But the armor kept it's advance.

"It's not working!" Drenig said. "The gas isn't penetrating the armor!"

It was safe to assume there was a ghost Pokemon in there. What kind of ghost Pokemon was unknown.

"Drenny!" Dustin yelled before taking a sword from one of the other armors and charging towards the ghost armor.

As Drenig got out of the way, Dustin swung his sword at the armor. But the armor picked Dustin up and tossed him aside.

"We may have to just run past the armor," Kiki mentioned. "It doesn't look like we can destroy it, and there's no point in doing so."

"But it takes up too much of the room for Drenig to get past," Wren mentioned.

"Not if I charge through!" Drenig yelled. Dustin, who was recovering after being tossed aside, decided to object.

"But Drenig, that's suicide!" Dustin yelled.

"If I barrel into it, I can knock it aside!" Drenig yelled before rushing up to the side of the armor without the lance. But the Emboar armor stuck the lance over into the wall of said side to block Drenig's path. Then the armor swung the lance to knock Drenig back.

"Told you it was suicide," Dustin said.

"I got a plan B," Kiki mentioned. "I'm gonna get it to turn it's back."

Kiki then ran toward the Emboar armor. The armor then did the exact same thing by sticking it's lance out. ...But Kiki slid under the lance and got it to turn around.

"NOW!" Kiki yelled to the rest.

Drenig found a chance to run past the Emboar armor as Kiki got it to turn around. Eventually everyone made it past the armor and to the door. Kiki opened the door and found a flight of stairs. The team rushed up the stairs and closed the door behind them leaving the Emboar armor behind them.

"Whew, that was close," Drenig mentioned.

"Still, that was some pretty cool armor," Dustin mentioned. "I know an Emboar L.A.R. P. er who would love to have cool armor like that. His name's Edgar."

"I think you told me about him before," Drenig mentioned. "He's like the head knight for your L.A.R. P. ing faction, right?"

"Yeah, he is," Dustin mentioned. "Pretty strong and good with a lance. ...Even better than that armor, now that I think about it."

"Come to think of it, what kind of creature inhabited that armor?" Wren asked.

Over with Artic-Uno, they had just pulled themselves up the shaft and made it to the second floor of Hespute's mansion. They could see the entrance and the main floor from where they were.

"Any sign of the other team?" Ruce asked.

"Not from the looks of it," Percy mentioned.

"Okay, let's just find the third floor," Muffy stated.

The team looked over and saw a flight of steps adjacent to the hallway they were walking on. It seemed a bit of a walk, but they would tough it out.

"So where are these... ghosts?" Muffy asked.

Suddenly, they walked by a painting, and immediately a pair of Misdrevius flew out to attack the group. The group jumped in shock.

"Agh! Fire! FIRE!" Muffy yelled before spraying the two Misdrevius with the potion gas. Afterward, the two Misdrevius shook their heads and flew down to the first floor.

"Did someone say fire?" The team then looked over to a pillar near the railing of the hallway they were walking in and saw two candles, one on the pillar and one on the wall opposite of it. ...Or what looked like candles but turned out to be Litwiks.

"Crud!" Jet yelled before hopping up and spraying one of the Litwiks. Percy sprayed the other. Afterward, the Litwiks went to rest on the holders they were on.

"The Dusklops wasn't kidding when he said the place would be crawling with ghosts," Lilly stated.

"Oh come on!" Grant shouted, alerting the group of two more litwiks. Grant shot one of them and Ruce shot the other. They just stood there and went to sleep like the other Litwiks did.

"Dang, they're really slowing us down," Ruce said.

"We gotta hurry!" Lilly shouted. "Look! The other team!"

Over on the opposite side of the room, they could see the other team in the distance. And they appeared through a door closer than the one Artic-Uno just went through.

"We're in the lead!" Wren said to his team.

"Yes, let's keep in the lead," Riley stated.

"We have to hurry," Lilly said. "We know what to expect from the rest of the hall, so use that to our advantage."

"Uhhh, right," Muffy said as she ran forward.

"Good idea," Percy admitted before running off down the hall with Muffy. Everyone else followed.

While Artic-Uno was blasting paintings and candles, Team Zap-Dos was finding out EXACTLY what they were in for as the first painting they encountered was one inhabited by more ghosts.

"Ahk! No one ever mentioned ghosts in the hall!" Dustin yelled.

"Kind of expected the mansion to have it's guardians," Drenig stated before spraying one of the ghosts.

"What else is down here?" Aria asked.

"The candles!" Kiki yelled. "They're alive too!"

Using the knowledge of the ghosts to their advantage, Team Artic-Uno was able to catch up to Team Zap-Dos. But eventually, they wised up too, and the match became a neck-and neck brawl to the steps.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Kiki yelled as their team reached the steps.

Artic-Uno, as well, reached the steps and they both started rushing up the steps, trying to get up there first. But Artic-Uno actually knew where to go, and Zap-Dos had to guess. As Artic-Uno was rushing towards the big door, Zap-Dos stopped to look around.

"Which door should we go through?" Dustin asked.

"Oh you have to be kidding," Aria said. "Artic-Uno probably knows, they're rushing right towards a door!"

Artic-Uno rushed down the hall, shooting more ghosts on the way, and they were almost able to reach Hespute's room. ...But when they got there, the door was locked.

"What the... How is this possible?" Jet asked, pulling at the door. "It's locked!?"

"I had a feeling getting in wouldn't be this easy," Muffy stated.

Suddenly, they heard a nasty laugh fill the room. This laugh was the same laugh they saw in the video.

"It's them!" Aria yelled out.

"Them? What do you mean them?" Kiki asked.

"Well I've been trying to say something for a while, but Riley keeps interrupting," Aria stated.

Suddenly, a figure appeared right above the door and floated to the center of the room where he could not be reached.

"Hmph! Welcome to my mansion, minions of Bertram," Hespute said before doing his signature laugh again.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" **Ruce roared, going crazy after hearing the word "minion" one more time.

-After Confessional-

Hespute was in sight, but the game wasn't coming to a close yet. Who would be the first to find Gulp and convert him to cut off Hespute's power?

**-Gulp Trip-**

"It is I, Hespute!" the giant ghost said. "My power is gigantical! My darkness is unblindable! And my study is locked to ALL except my minions."

"That's okay, I'll end the challenge right now," Aria said before trying to run up to Hespute. ...But Riley grabbed her.

"Do you even have a mind?" Riley asked.

"Do you want to win or not?" Aria asked.

"Yeah," Riley said. "But a blind charge won't work."

"I know what I'm doing," Aria said.

"Hello! Eyes on Hespute!" the giant ghost shouted. "Only my minions have the key, so YOU are pretty much out of luck. Slash and Smash are my two mains, and both should have a key. Incidentally, neither of them will just give their key away. And that silly little gas of yours won't work on them."

"Gas doesn't work..." Dustin said. "The big guy! That must have been Smash!"

"I'm talking here!" Hespute shouted. "The both of them will be roaming the halls in search of you, and they will make sure they take good care of you. You can run all you want, but the only place you can go is out, and that won't get you anywhere now will it? Anyway, good day."

Eventually, Hespute went back through the wall where his study was.

"Great, now what?" Kiki asked.

"First, you could explain what you know about Smash," Ruce called out.

"All we know is he wears big Emboar armor," Dustin said.

"And Slash?" Percy asked.

"We... haven't encountered him yet," Drenig said.

"So... what do we do?" Muffy asked.

"Hey, figure that out for yourself!" Aria asked. "You're not on our team, so we don't have to tell you." Eventually the teams huddled together.

Over with Team Zap-Dos, they were trying to figure out what to do. They didn't have a good idea, nor did they have a plan.

"Well... what do you guys got?" Drenig asked. "I got nothing."

"Maybe we should hide and wait for them to come out," Aria mentioned.

"That's stupid," Riley said.

"Is that all you do is criticize Aria?" Wren asked.

"Sorry, but she gets on my nerves," Riley mentioned. "And come on, doesn't she get on all of ours? Be honest."

"No, I'm fine with her," Wren said.

"What if we... what if we get one of them to take it's helmet off?" Kiki suggested.

"How do we do that?" Dustin asked.

"Uhhhh..." Kiki stuttered.

"So we have no plan," Drenig said.

"Why don't I tackle Smash down the steps," Dustin said. "I'm sure his helmet will fall off during the fall."

"That's suicide!" Kiki shouted. "You could kill yourself doing that!"

"And now we're back to hiding," Aria said.

"I'm not hiding like a coward," Riley stated.

"Do you have a better idea?" Aria asked. "Because the floor is all yours if you do."

"I say we fight him, then we steal his key," Riley said.

"Take the fight to the giant menace!" Dustin shouted.

"No, let's not and say we did," Kiki said. "You're forgetting there's an actor in the armor. We could hurt him and get our whole team disqualified from the challenge."

"Don't tell me you're siding with Aria," Riley said. "I thought you had more brains then that."

"You're telling me we should physically harm whoever's in that armor?" Kiki asked.

"It's a ghost, we'll just destroy the armor," Riley said.

"We don't know that!" Kiki shouted. "Why would they need keys if they're ghosts?"

"I dunno, to get inside with their armor?" Riley asked.

"No, they'd need to be solid for keys to be relevant," Kiki asked.

Over at Artic-Uno, they had an easier time figuring out what to do. Jet had a plan crazy enough to work.

"Why don't I just leap onto the armor and grab his helmet off," Jet asked.

"That sounds like a stupid plan," Muffy said.

"I dunno, I think legs might be able to pull it off," Grant stated.

"Do you think so?" Ruce asked.

"Sure, why not?" Grant asked. "Okay Jet, why don't you give it a shot?"

Percy eventually stood up and looked to the other group. There was a lot of noise there.

"Wow, there must be another battle going on over there," Percy stated. "Are they always arguing?"

"Now that I think of it, they were doing that before we went inside," Jet said.

Back with Team Zap-Dos, the flames began. Riley was arguing why they should attack the armor, and Kiki was arguing against it.

"We have no good plans to work with!" Riley shouted. "Fighting the armor is all we have!"

"I think Aria's actually right, Riley," Kiki said. "I think hiding and getting the drop on them is the way to go."

"You're siding with HER!?" Riley shouted. "I thought you were the team leader!"

"I go with what I think is the best option!" Kiki yelled. "I do NOT think physically assaulting an ACTOR is the way to go!"

"Ugh! I thought there'd actually be people on this team that aren't completely useless," Riley insulted.

"You're calling ME useless!?" Kiki asked.

"And me?" Aria asked. "What have YOU done?"

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Third time's a charm, little lizard," Aria said. "This time you are SURELY going home."

-After Confessional-

"Guys, be quiet," Dustin said. "I think I hear clinking armor in the distance. They're coming."

"Right, hide where you can," Kiki said, going through one of the doors.

"You can stay out here if you want," Aria stated, going through another.

Eventually, everyone except Riley went through a door. Eventually, two figures were emerging from the steps. As you'd expect, one of them was an Emboar armor. The other was armor in the shape of a Scizor. They said nothing, they just walked up the stairs. ...When suddenly... Jet leaped out at the Scizor armor.

"Yargh! I just need to pull this helmet off..." Jet said. But then the armor started to fight back. But even though Jet didn't use his tongue which would have been against the rules anyway, Jet managed to pull off the helmet, revealing... an actual Scizor. ...One with a rather long neck.

"Gah! Smash, help!" Slash cried.

"Inhale THIS you overrated ugly lobster!" Jet said before spraying at Slash' mouth.

"Who you calling over-rated, you hideous blue lickitung wannabe?" Smash yelled before running off after Slash.

"Hey, YOU!" Riley yelled before running up and jumping onto Smash. Smash turned around and Riley managed to grab onto his arms, right before grabbing and pulling his helmet off. Riley fell off the armor, which ALSO turned out to be the actual creature and brandished his gun. As Smash started to charge after Riley, Riley brandished his fumigator and sprayed right in Smash's face. Eventually, both knights stopped their struggle and stood still.

"Wow, Jet's plan actually worked," Muffy admitted.

"Guess I was right to trust in the over-rated hideous blue lickitung wannabe," Grant mentioned.

Suddenly, Zap-Dos members poured out of the rooms, as did a few Duskulls. They were all shouting very loudly, which showed they were scared.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea!" Aria yelled.

"Told you my idea was better," Riley said, pointing at Smash. Dustin couldn't help but stare at both Smash AND Slash.

"...Edgar?" Dustin asked.

"Uhhh..." Smash stuttered.

"And there's our faction's rival's leader, Dorval," Dustin said, pointing to the Scizor.

"Uhhh... are we supposed to know you?" Slash asked.

"You two are from our L.A.R. P. ing community!" Dustin proclaimed.

"Uhhh, we know not of these "Edgar" and "Dorval" characters you mention," Smash said.

"You're forgetting it's a show," Drenig whispered. "Even if they are who you think they are, they're not going to admit it on camera."

"Oh, thy must have you two confused," Dustin said.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Though I am right," Dustin said. "Those two are well respected faction leaders of our L.A.R. P. ing community. Sometimes Edgar and Dorval team up to fight other communities during the L.A.R. P. ing wars."

-After Confessional-

"Well? Are you going to apologize?" Riley asked.

"All you did was take his helmet off," Kiki said. "You didn't actually fight him."

"But I DID get the job done," Riley mentioned. "Which is more than smarty-squid has preformed."

"We all have our moments," Aria admitted. "Well go on, isn't this the part where you two would say something like "Huh? Where are we? Thanks for saving us. Here's the keys."

"Actually, we know where we are," Slash said. "We came here to defeat Hespute and Gulp."

"Argh, alas he was too strong even for an Emboar such as I," Smash said. "I don't exactly have the speed of a Scizor."

"...We Scizor are actually quite slow ourselves," Slash said.

"Oh, I didn't know," Smash said.

"And besides, I am much more lethal than you are," Slash said.

"I could still kick your butt," Smash argued.

"Only cause of your type," Slash countered. "Things would be rather different with neutral types."

"Yeah right!" Smash yelled.

"Arguing just like old times," Dustin said.

"Who is this kid again?" Slash asked.

"Duh, I don't know Slash," Smash said.

"Anyway, you freed us from his curse," Slash mentioned. "So we will each give you teams a key."

Slash took his key out of his armor and flew over to Jet. Slash threw it in the air and Jet jumped right up to catch it. He even did a front flip, the show off.

"Ha! Nice," Slash said.

Dustin ran up to Smash as he came closer to the group. Dustin was eager to get the key from "his guild master," so he put his fist out before grabbing the key. What do you know, "Edgar" gave Dustin a bump back before handing the key to him.

"Anyway, we better head out," Slash said. "Good luck against Hespute."

"Wait, aren't you gonna stay and fight with us?" Dustin asked.

"You have the weapons that work against him and we don't," Smash mentioned.

"Dustin... let em go," Drenig said. "You'll probably see them at the next convention anyway."

Over with Artic-Uno, they were not wasting any time. They were heading straight for the study.

"Alright, now to bust into his study," Jet stated.

"The one he's probably still in?" Percy asked.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Jet said as he opened the door and gave a shocked look to Hespute. It was all part of his plan. "Lord Hespute! Your minions failed to defeat us!" he cried.

"Ha! Welcome to my chamber," Hespute said. "So you have come to defeat us? Me and Gulp. That will be very fun to see, you trying to destroy me AND my friend."

"I bet Gulp is hungry though!" Jet cried. "Bet he would really like to try a nice juicy Emboar right now."

"Yes, that he would," Hespute said. "I'll go fetch the two right now and have them face punishment. In the meantime, you stay put."

Hespute then flew up to the top of the room before going through the wall again. He then flew out into the third floor balcony and down the stairs.

"...That's it?" Ruce asked. "He's just going to leave the room?"

"Ah ha ha ha! Idiot!" Grant blurted out. "And look, the back room is exposed."

Lilly walked up to the door and examined it. It was locked.

"Looks like we might need a key for this door if we want to face Gulp," Lilly suggested.

"But why would that punk just leave the room?" Muffy asked. "Why doesn't he stay here and try to stop us?"

"Hey guys, I found a key in his throne," Percy said after digging through the throne cusions and pulling out a key."

"Great, now all we have to do is open the door," Jet said before Percy went to the door to open.

"I still think it's too easy," Muffy said. That made Lilly think.

"You're right... it does seem a bit... easy," Lilly said.

Eventually, Percy opened the door to the study. There, they each got a look at what was in the back room for the first time.

...But that would be revealed later. Team Zap-Dos saw Hespute fly down the stairs. Dustin got kind of worried.

"Edgar!" Dustin yelled.

"Forget that, it's a game," Riley yelled. "We have to stop the other team from..."

"Come on, Dustin," Aria said. "Let's go save Edgar. We'll kill two Tailows with one gravelrock."

"What are you doing!?" Riley yelled. "We have to get in there before they do!"

"We're going to win the game!" Aria shouted before she rushed down the steps. Dustin and Wren followed them. Drenig eventually did too.

"GET BACK HERE!" Riley erupted. Riley ran after Aria, but Kiki tried to stop him.

"Riley, I think Aria might know what she's doing!" Kiki excused.

"You mean like last time?" Riley asked.

"I don't know," Kiki said. "I just have a feeling she knows something. She's been hiding something the whole time."

"Why do you keep defending her?" Riley asked.

"Now, I don't like her either," Kiki stated. "I mean, I don't hate her, but I can see why she annoys you Riley."

"Then let's go!" RIley shouted.

"But I still think she might..." Kiki started.

"Listen Kiki, are you going to trust a blithering idiot or are you going to trust me?" Riley asked.

"I... I don't know," Kiki said. Riley was scaring her.

"Let's go already!" Riley shouted before running after Aria and the others. Kiki followed in suit.

Down on the second floor, Slash and Smash had just made it down. Suddenly Hespute showed up and started to fly around their areas.

"Where do you think YOU TWO are going?" He asked before grabbing Slash first then flying over and grabbing Smash. "You're forgetting what happens to those who fail me. May we consult the laws of Hespute's mansion? Or would you like to be good children and answer yourself."

"You and Gulp can perish!" Slash threatened.

"We don't work for you anymore, and we never will again!" Smash yelled.

"Ha! Both very good answers," Hespute taunted. "However, they are WRONG answers."

"Edgar! We've come to help!" Dustin shouted before coming down stairs.

"For the last time, my name is Smash!" he answered.

"Fine, Smash and Slash," Dustin said. "We come to help."

"Because it's game over for you and your little pal," Aria said before rushing up to Hespute's belly. She pointed the gun at the belly's mouth and... was tackled to the ground by an angry Charmeleon.

"You FOOL!" Aria yelled. "We we going to win!"

"I am the fool?" Riley asked. "You just blindly walk up to him and point the gun without thinking?"

"You're costing us the challenge!" Aria yelled.

"Awww, that is adors, isn't it?" Hespute asked, talking about Aria and Riley's arguing. "But now, where was I?"

"HERE COMES THE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Suddenly, Hespute heard a shout coming from the other flight of steps. He saw Grant rushing up to the group, locked and loaded. Ruce was right beside him, rushing up to Hespute just as feisty.

"Don't let them get away!" Ruce yelled. Eventually the two took turns firing away at Hespute's belly. Hespute kept trying to back away, but eventually both Grant and Ruce managed to fire off blasts of potion gas straight into Hespute's belly. Eventually, the belly started to cough furiously.

"What are they doing?" Riley asked. "Are they mental?"

"No," Aria answered. "I've been trying to tell the team the whole time, but you refused to listen."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked. Eventually, Lilly came up to the group.

"Simple," Lilly started. "If I am right, Aria was trying to say that Hespute's friend "Gulp" is actually Hespute's belly."

"Huh!?" Riley shouted.

"While you were chasing after Hespute," Percy started. "We got a sneak peak at his back room. Do you know what we saw back there?"

"Uhhh..." Riley stuttered.

"Nothing. All we saw was a black and empty room," Ruce stated.

"I knew it was too easy," Muffy said. "He left us alone cause he knew we'd be wasting our time up there. He had nothing to hide but nothing itself."

"Thanks for being a doll and letting us win by the way," Grant said.

"Woo hoo! Another day I don't go home!" Jet shouted.

"Uhhhhh..." Riley looked down at the pinioned Malamar, and she looked angry.

"Apologies please?" Aria asked.

**-One Step Closer-**

"So..." Hespute started once both teams were assembled. "You figured me out, didn't you? Well done. I kind of wish you didn't convert me thought. I thought it was kinda fun being an evil lord for a change."

"Care to rule the world together?" Grant asked.

"Cute, but no," Hespute said.

"Now that I think of it, I kind of recognize you too," Aria said. "You're famous comedian Goat Hepher."

"Goat Hepher? Is that a stage name?" Kiki asked.

"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about," Hespute said. "Right Slash and Smash?"

"Uhhh, right," Slash mentioned.

"Please, Bower admitted his true identity," Aria said.

"Alright, I admit it," Hespute said. "I really am Goat Hepher. I kind of made that my stage name after someone commented on the ammount of meat jokes I make."

"Please, invite me to your next show," Lilly said. "Someone needs to boo you off the stage."

"She's a vegetarian," Muffy said. "She wouldn't find that funny at all. ...Honestly I don't either."

"I don't think making light of something's death, big or small, is something to laugh at either," Drenig mentioned.

"...Do any of you find those jokes fun?" Hespute, or should I say Goat said.

"...I do," Aria said, raising her tentacle up.

"...Really?" Wren asked Aria.

"And you two really are..." Dustin started.

"L.A.R. P. ing captains? Yes we are," Dorval said. "As you said, I'm Dorval and he is Edgar."

"Hey Dusty," Edgar said happily. Dustin waved back to his team captain.

"But now that we've said who we are, the illusion's kind of..." Goat started.

"Dagger Eyes did this to you guys," Aria said. "He took a bunch of innocents and turned them into zombies."

"Huh? Is Aria trying to take the game seriously?" Kiki asked.

"You were just hardworking people who went about life normally," Aria said. "So was Gola, Medula, AND... possibly Pandora too, not sure what to think of him. You had fame and fortune, and Dagger Eyes took all of that away from you. Dagger Eyes is ruthless and evil, and he will pay for his crimes."

"Uhhhh... Yes, let's go with that," Goat said. "Anyway, the challenge is over. Now we should return to Bertram. He should be waiting for you guys back at the cave."

"Wait, how do you know?" Ruce asked.

"Dagger Eyes has cameras planted everywhere, even from my mansion," Goat said. "I knew you were coming the whole time."

"Now I know why Aria has a hard time taking this show seriously," Lilly said.

Back at the cave, the challenge was wrapping up. Bertram seemed proud by Goat's pressence, as it was proof the teams had succeeded.

"So, if my eyes do not decieve me, one team has converted Gulp," Bertram said. "May I ask which team?"

"Uhhh... Team Artic-Uno did so," Goat said.

"Really, me and my team WOULD have won, but SOMEONE tackled me to the ground before I could complete the challenge!" Aria shouted, staring at Riley.

"Hmph, I guess no ammount of appologizing is going to save me from this one," Riley stated. "This is why I don't like working in teams. ...Because I have a hard time doing so without letting my anger towards them get the better of me."

The two teams stared at Riley. There seemed to be a sense of sympathy towards him.

"I really do deserve to be sent home after what I did today," Riley said. "After all, you have no reason to send anyone else home. ...I... I'm sorry for attacking you, Aria."

"Hmmmm..." Aria was thinking about Riley's appology. In fact, the whole team was.

"Well, I guess the matter of your reward is in order Artic-Uno," Bertram said. "Unfortunately, there will be no food reward this time."

"Awww..." Muffy whined.

"Instead, Kaleb's Pipes and Plumbing will install some new showers in BOTH bunkers," Bertram said. "In addition, Artic-Uno's package comes equiped with top of the line washing impliments, all kinds of scented cleaning products, luxurious towels, bath robes, AND adjustable heat on the showers.

"No way, really?" Jet asked.

"My fur has been really dirty as of late," Percy mentioned.

"The losing team only gets standard washcloths, plain cleaning products, bargain towels, NO bath robes and each shower will only be equiped with warm water," Bertram added. "Not very comfortable, but it will wash you up. In addition, one more member will be sent home."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Should we really give Riley another chance?" Kiki asked. "I know he has his demons and his strong points, but he STILL cost us the challenge. I don't know who else to send home. ...Oh wait, yeah I do. That annoying Watchog that thinks he's a knight. If I vote for anyone else, it's him."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I don't care if he appologized today," Wren said. "He'll just come back and do it again."

-After Confessional-

Everyone of the Zap-Dos members gathered around for the next ceremony. As usual, everyone got a glass to drink.

"As usual, you must drink the milk or you are disqualified," Bertram said.

"Why should I bother?" Riley asked. "I should just go now."

"No! Drink your milk," Bertram said.

"Whatever." Riley drunk the milk, but didn't think there was much of a point. Everyone else drank as well.

"So... are we ready to start the ceremony?" Bertram asked.

"I got nothing to say," Kiki said. "Anyone else?"

"No, I'm good," Drenig said.

"Nothing here," Wren stated.

"Anyone else?" Kiki asked. ...Silence. No one had anything to contribute. "Okay, you may start."

"Once again we find ourselves at the Exile Chamber," Bertram stated. "Five of you will remain here, but one person will go home."

"Just send me home already," Riley said.

"No, we have to go through the list first," Bertram said. "Let's see... Kiki, you are safe. ...Aria, you are ALSO safe."

"Is there any point?" Riley asked. "It's obvious they're sending me home."

"Not neccesarily, let's have fun with it," Bertram said. "Maybe they'll give you another chance. Okay, Wren and Drenig are..."

"I've been down here three times in a row," Riley stated. "Why would they give me another chance?"

"Well, Jet got three chances," Bertram said. "But then again, he would have been sent home if Yoshi didn't forfeit. Anyway, Wren and Drenig are..."

"As much as I try, my team knows I can't function in a group," Riley said. "I've let my group down once again and now... Now I'm starting to feel dissapointed. ...Dissapointed in myself for not trying harder to work in a group. Maybe that comes with being an aspie."

"Wait, what?" Kiki asked. "You never told us you had Aspergers."

"Because I never found the point in telling anyone," Riley said. "But I do. That's part of the reason I have such a hard time working in a group, because it's not part of my nature to do so. I've always prefered to be alone, and now I wish I was more social. But I can't easily change who I am."

"Well if you'd just let me finish..." Bertram started. "Oh what's the point? Riley, yes, you are going home."

"Figures," Riley said before walking over to the quarantine chamber. Bertram opened the chamber for him to step inside.

"Any last words before you go?" Bertram asked.

"I..." Riley stuttered. "I guess I wanted to learn more about Kiki. I... kind of wanted to be good friends with her because she was the one I looked up to the most. I can even go as far as to say... I had a crush on her. Kind of glad me and her are two compatable monsters."

"No you're not," Bertram said to Riley.

"Wait, what?" Riley asked. But before an answer came, Bertram pushed him into the chamber. "You mean we're not compatable!?"

Riley never got an answer before the smoke consumed him. Eventually, Riley was gone and another member had bit the bullet.

"Hmph, he seemed kind of nice," Bertram said. "Maybe I should invite him into a future season, assuming we get that far."

"Uh Bertram?" Kiki started. "Is that true? Are we really not compatable?"

"I am afraid that was not a joke," Bertram said, shaking his head.

"Meh, I guess I didn't come here for that anyway, unlike Chauncey," Kiki said.

"I hate to say it," Wren started. "But I almost regret not liking him now."

"It's alright," Aria stated. "I didn't like him much either before now. Anyway, let's go back to our bunkers."

Wren hopped back with the group, but then looked back at Bertram. He had a question to ask.

"Say, is Kiki compatable with anyone on the island?" Wren asked.

"Why is that relevant?" Bertram asked. "She said she didn't come here for love."

"I... I guess you might as well," Kiki said. "Just for kicks and giggles I guess."

"In that case, yes you are compatable with someone," Bertram said.

"Who?" Wren asked.

"Him," Bertram said, pointing his paw at Drenig.

"Wait, what now!?" Drenig asked.

"Oh, it's not relevant," Kiki said. "I only asked cause I was curious."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Me and Kiki?" Drenig asked himself. "You know, I never put thought into that." Drenig shook his head afterward. "But who cares. I came here to raise money for Big Boss Motors. ...And charity. There's several charities I wouldn't mind submitting to."

-After Confessional-

Bertram was looking into a book. The book was titled "Wedding Bells: Which Mate Is Right For You," the same book Muffy was reading a couple of days ago.

"Boy this book is a fun ready," Bertram said. "This episode of Quarantine has been brought to you by Prista Ardenta, author of "Wedding Bells: Which Mate Is Right For You," and Kaleb's Pipes and Plumbing for state of the art ductwork. Tomorrows episode will mark the last we see of teams Artic-Uno and Zap-Dos. Because two episodes from now, there will be an obligatory merge. Tomorrow is the last episode before the merge, and it's looking to be a good one. Until next episode, we say goodbye to you for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"It's time to tell... the truth!"_

_Contestants are given the task of listing the things they hate about each of their team members._

_"What DON'T I hate about him?"_

_After the contestants learn, they will be put inside a maze..._

_"Where am I now?"_

_...A maze which can only be solved through correct answers._

_"Oh great, not another intelligence challenge."_

_All this leads up to the shocking turn of events._

_"I must proceed with phase TWO."_

_In the next episode of Quarantine: Crusafix Twofold._


	9. Chapter 9: Crucifix Twofold

Chapter 9: Crucifix Twofold

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"Nooooo! My doom machine!"_

_Ghosts came and destroyed all the mechs, and Dagger Eyes appears once more._

_"Sweet precious Quarantine. How I long for revenge against that ugly beaver and his STUPID minions!"_

_Contestants were tasked with retaliation against the second Dagger Eyes general, Hespute._

_"Behold: Ghost Cougher!"_

_The contestants had to find Hespute's friend and stick him with the gas._

_"Gulp is the real danger here, not Hespute. ...The thing is... no one knows who Gulp is."_

_Only Aria started out with an inkling._

_"Well, I have a pretty good idea of where Gulp could be found."_

_But Riley shut her up every single time._

_"Don't tell me you're siding with Aria. I thought you had more brains then that."_

_Eventually, Aria was going to win the challenge for the team, but Riley's reckless endangerment cost them the win against Team Artic-Uno._

_"Woo hoo! Another day I don't go home!"_

_Naturally, Riley was sent home right after spilling his guts to the team._

_"I've let my group down once again and now... Now I'm starting to feel disappointed."_

_...But don't feel too bad for Riley._

_"Hmph, he seemed kind of nice. Maybe I should invite him into a future season, assuming we get that far."_

_...You knew deep down Bertram felt sorry for him. ...But then again maybe he just liked him as Aria's enemy. ...But maybe he might keep his word. But for now, eleven contestants remain. Who will win all the accolades and chips in the end?_

**-One-Note Voices-**

"Okay, I have made SO many fixes to my robot that I have lost track."

Grant was doing the usual morning routine of working on his robot. He was now putting in the supports he got in yesterday's challenge.

"Alright, just a small pipe here," Grant blurted out. "Excellent. Now, once and for all, I command you already to move and preform your task as my Ultimate Destructo Robot of Dooooooooooooooooooooooom!"

Grant pressed the button one more time. Low and behold, the coconuts moved. The coconut robot raised an arm and then it started walking. This made Grant squeal like a girly pig.

"Eeeeee! It works!" Grant shouted. "It finally works!"

"Yeah, and it's going to be broken again if you don't stop shouting!" Muffy yelled, waking up from trying to sleep after Grant's antics.

"Oops, sorry," Grant said before playing with his robot. ...But then he looked over at Ruce. Grant started to think about something.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"I forgot about the egg-shaped one," Grant said. "All this time I've been too busy that I forgot I was supposed to get rid of her. I must proceed with phase TWO! It's only a matter of time before Ruce catches onto me."

-After Confessional-

Over at Zap-Dos, Kiki was thinking strongly about what Riley said before he left, in that he actually did have a crush on her. Kiki kind of felt sorry for him to be frank. What if he actually could have been more useful.

She looked at the entire room, and everyone still seemed to be asleep. Kiki thought it would be a good idea to go hunting for breakfast alone.

She didn't close the door quiet enough. Awaking from sleep, Drenig just woke up when she closed the door. Drenig looked around the castle and noticed Kiki was gone. He felt maybe now was a chance to talk to her. But he had to avoid being weird about it.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Me and Dustin are good friends, Wren and Aria are also good friends," Drenig mentioned. "But Kiki? After Riley left yesterday, she has no one. Ay don't know if last night was a sign that, maybe... maybe I should take the opportunity to make a new friend. ...But just a friend. Ay aint taking it that we must be together or anything, I mean I aint Chauncey, man."

-After Confessional-

Drenig crawled out of bed and went toward the door. But he wasn't the only one awake. His friend Dustin got up as well and noticed Drenig was leaving.

"Hey, where you going?" Dustin asked.

"I... I just wanted to check up on Kiki," Drenig answered.

"This isn't about last night, is it?" Dustin asked.

"No it isn't that," Drenig said. "It's just that she seems so lonely and I guess I just wanted to talk to her. Maybe to see if there was anything I could do to help."

"You want me to come with?" Dustin asked.

"Nah, I am not sure she likes you that much," Drenig said.

Suddenly, the other members of the team woke up. They were already in on Drenig's plan.

"What about me?" Wren asked. "I'm usually pretty good at talking to people and helping them out."

"I suppose I could try to help as well," Aria mentioned.

"I... I kinda wanted to talk to her alone," Drenig said.

"That's a bit selfish, don't you think?" Aria asked. "Wanting to do a task by yourself that can be completed with multiple people?"

"Yeah, I wanna help too," Wren said.

"Well, it's just that... ummmmm..." Drenig didn't have an excuse, so he just cracked under the pressure. "Alright... You can all come."

None of them said anything. They just smiled and followed Drenig out the door. The started heading for the hunting grounds, hoping to find Kiki and see if there was anything they could do to help.

Kiki wasn't even hunting right now. She was pulling a log over to a pond. She finished pulling it over and then, surprise, she sat down on it and started looking to the water. That's when the others showed up. Aria and Dustin stayed in the background, but Drenig and Wren seemed to both want to approach her immediately.

"Ummm... hello there Kiki," Drenig stated. Kiki looked up at Drenig and then back at the pond.

"I said I'm not here to look for a mate," Kiki mentioned. "I'm not Chauncey you know."

"Huh, that's exactly what I said in confessional earlier," Drenig mentioned. "Coincidence?"

"What is he doing?" Aria whispered to Dustin.

"I think he's just nervous," Dustin responded.

"Yes, it's a coincidence," Kiki said.

"Oh, wait I didn't mean to say that," Drenig said. "What I meant to say was... uhhh... I don't want to sound weird like I'm trying to start something. I just came here to help."

"Let me try Drenig," Wren said. "I've been helping people out all my life. So... Kiki. Do you want to talk?"

"I... guess there's no harm in it," Kiki said.

"If it's about Riley, I think we all share your pain a bit," Wren said. "None of us liked Riley all that much before, but after last night we all kind of... feel sorry for him. I think the reason you're bummed is that he's the closest you had to a close friend."

"Yeah... that kind of describes it," Kiki said. "But how did you know?"

"I have a lot of friends at home," Wren said. "I learn the ways of emotion through experience."

"You don't have to feel left out Kiki," Aria said. "We all would like to help. That's why we're here."

"We're a team, and a team needs to have each others back," Dustin said.

"But what if we lose the next challenge," Kiki said. "You guys have close friends among the team, and I don't."

"Just because you aren't as close of a friend to me as, say, Dustin is," Drenig started. "That doesn't mean you'll get my vote next chance. After all, me and Wren aren't close. Neither are me and Aria."

"But still, to avoid losing, we have to do our best," Aria said.

"If you ever feel down, you know who to talk to," Wren said.

"Well... what do you think?" Dustin asked. Kiki turned around and smiled.

"I think it's great to have such friendly team-members such as you guys," Kiki said. "Now... I'd stand back if I were you."

Eventually, everyone stood back. Kiki stood up and faced the log. And then, she karate chopped the log right into two pieces. This showed how well she trained her talons to endure strong objects, but also how much she's trained at martial arts in general.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Let's just say I've wanted to do that the entire series," Kiki mentioned.

-After Confessional-

"So... we're all friends now?" Drenig asked.

"Even if our two teams merge, let's stay friends," Wren said.

"Agreed," Aria answered.

"For Team Zap-Dos!" Dustin cried.

"For Team Zap-Dos!" the others cheered together.

...But little did they know, they were being watched. Behind a tree, there was a certain panda who happened to be associated with Dagger Eyes watching on.

"So they vow to always be friends," Pandora said to himself. "Those pathetic little whelps, how dare they. Ha! I know one way to put them in their place."

Pandora then lifted up a brain control helmet to the camera. It was one of Dagger Eyes.

"This will be MUCH too easy," Pandora said to himself.

Over at Team Artic-Uno, Percy and Jet were taking turns throwing spears at the straw targets they made days ago. Percy was beating him.

"Wow, another bulls eye," Percy said. "I've gotten better haven't I?"

"Ugh, I swear you're cheating you fat..." Jet started, letting his emotions get ahead of him for a moment. "...I mean yeah! Good job!"

Percy rolled his eyes at Jet. Was he STILL trying to act friendly towards Percy?

"I'm still trying to burn it off," Percy said.

Jet threw another spear at his target. He missed it entirely.

"Argh! What are you doing? Are you greasing my spears so they slip off my hands!?" Jet shouted.

"I'm not doing anything," Percy mentioned. "You're just getting worked up over nothing."

"Why don't YOU do the hunting by yourself!" Jet yelled. ...And once again, he stopped to calm down. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that Percy. I don't know what came over me. Maybe it's just because I'm used to winning."

"Yeah... I can see that," Percy stated.

"You know, your shouting didn't help either."

Percy and Jet looked to the Jhotan bunker and saw Lilly and Muffy walking out of it. Lilly seemed to have had a headache right now.

"You're right I shouldn't have yelled," Muffy said. "But it's what gets the point across. Otherwise, that stupid Grant would go on about how he's SOOOOO evil and smart and what-have-you and none of us would have slept a wink."

"So screaming even louder helps?" Lilly asked sarcastically.

"No, it doesn't," Muffy admitted. "But I'm only mortal. Mortals makes mistakes.

"I suppose," Lilly said.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"My parents have always gotten at me for my loudness," Muffy said. "They think I should start trying to control my voice. But I've always been a loud monster. I don't mean to be a bad guy, I just tend to talk loud when I want to get a point across. I did it a lot as a bully, and I still do it."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, the two went to pick berries, leaving Jet and Percy behind to throw more spears at the targets. But suddenly, Ruce and Grant came out as well.

"You mean to tell me you've figure it out?" Ruce asked.

"Well... no, not yet," Grant said. "But I AM on the verge of doing so. While controlling my robot, I just had a breakthrough. All I need is one final clue as proof."

"What clue is that?" Ruce asked.

"That I am unsure of," Grant stated. "Hopefully by the end of the day, I'll have the answer. I will tell you what I know later."

"Well, fine but... I kind of want to know now," Ruce mentioned.

"No, I don't have the proof yet," Grant said. "If I make accusations now, and it turns out I'm wrong, who knows what could happen."

"Well alright," Ruce said. "Do you want to toss a soccer ball around?"

"Okay, why not," Grant said before going inside and getting the ball.

"Awww, I want to play soccer," Jet whined.

"Well we have to go hunting," Percy mentioned. "Breakfast first, games later."

Eventually, everyone had gotten done with their morning routine. During breakfast, Bertram appeared on the screen, though he seemed a bit odd today.

"Good morning subjects," Bertram said in a strange mono-tone voice. "Today's challenge will expose the strengths and weakness deep inside each of us."

"Holly Hannah Barbara, what's up with your voice?" Aria asked.

"There is nothing wrong with my voice," Bertram stated. "I'm just feeling a little sick right now. Someone depressed even. I would rather not go into that right now. But soon your challenge will begin."

"Did he say "expose strengths and weaknesses?" Wren asked.

"I did Wren, yes I did," Bertram said. "Today's challenge will be like no other we have experienced as of today."

"Stop talking like that!" Kiki yelled. "I don't care how sick you are, there's no disease that makes someone talk in a mono-tone voice."

"But Kiki, my voice hurts, and if I talk in too many octaves I could damage it more," Bertram said.

"Something doesn't feel right," Drenig said. "What's going on back there!? What are you doing with Bertram?"

"Oh, so you figured it out."

Eventually, Bertram was pushed aside. Then, you could see another figure: Pandora. Pandora's mouth was concealed, but you could tell he was happy.

"Mwahahahaaa! Surprised? It's me again!" Pandora said. "Bertram is now under Dagger Eyes' control. **I** am running the show now. And now for the moment you have ALL been waiting for. It's time to tell... the truth!"

**-What I DON'T Like About You-**

"Boy, what an interesting plot twist," Aria mentioned.

"Silence is golden, Squidface," Pandora said. "It would be wise to make use of silence right now."

Over at Artic-Uno's side, they seemed to be even more rattled; especially Grant. Of course, Grant tried to hide it as you'd expect.

"Tell the truth?" Grant asked. "Ha! I got nothing to hide."

"Not even your qua**L**ms with other members?" Pandora asked. Eventually, Pandora's face looked up as if someone was talking to him. "I'm reading the script," Pandora said before turning away from the camera and putting his paw to his head. "Qualms, Qau**L**ms, what difference does it make? Well how am I supposed to know the "L" is silent, I'm reading your stupid script! Who even uses that word? Whatever, I'll try to be more careful."

"Let me guess, your master is angry you pronounced a word wrong?" Lilly asked.

"I am pretty sure I already said this, but... Silence is golden!" Pandora reiterated. "So who's ready for today's challenge? Each of you will be strapped one by one into the confessional, with a lie detector attached to each and every one of you. Every lie you tell, you shall get zapped."

"...You know you can't just force us into the confessionals, right?" Lilly asked.

"Ugh! What is your problem anyway?" Ruce yelled. "What is this going to do for you!?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Pandora said. "MiniOOOOONS!"

That was when a loud knocking noise hit both doors. Eventually, the doors opened, and you could see several Ursaring entering the bunkers. They looked particularly buff and had a nice figure, although Percy could probably take them on if he wanted to.

"Well? Who's first?" Pandora asked the two teams.

"You're worthless minions mean nothing to me," Percy said. ...But Percy changed his mind once he saw the Ursaring pull out some orbs. It looked like they were explosive orbs at that.

"Then maybe you'd rather go boom," Pandora said. ...Once again, it appeared he was being yelled at by his master, who he was listening to through an ear piece. "There's no script for that, so I just said something. Well I liked the sound of it, and I don't care if you like it or not. Shut up! You're not here right now! I will do what I want! Waaaaaaaah!"

Over at Zap-Dos, they found something very odd.

"Did... did he just scream like a child?" Dustin asked.

"Why does Pandora remind of a certain someone?" Drenig asked.

"That's right, you DON'T want to upset me," Pandora continued. "Now, let me use the words I want to use. Got it?" Eventually, Pandora looked back at the screen and smiled evilly. "Well? Who's first?"

"Why don't I go first," Kiki offered.

"You don't have to push yourself Kiki," Wren said. "After all, we can take the bullet for you if you want."

"My turn's going to come up anyway," Kiki mentioned. "I might as well get it over with."

"If you're sure," Aria said."

Over at Artic-Uno's bunker, they were still deciding. But Muffy wanted someone to go first.

"I think that stupid pig should go first," Muffy said.

"Wah! Why have me go first?" Grant asked. "Why not Jet?"

"You said yourself you had nothing to hide," Muffy stated.

"I don't have anything to hide," Grant said. "But I'd rather save myself for later. I still want to tinker with my robot."

"I'll destroy that robot like I said I would this morning!" Muffy yelled.

"Well sorry for angering someone who said they didn't want to be a bully anymore," Grant countered.

"Wah! Am I bullying right now?" Muffy asked the others.

"Yeah, you kind of are," Lilly mentioned.

"Why don't I go first?" Ruce asked. "I actually would like to get some things off my chest."

"I... I suppose there's no harm," Lilly said. "Okay, you can go first."

"Glad I have your permission," Ruce said back.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

You could see Kiki was strapped to the device Pandora mentioned. Kiki was unsure what to make of it.

"So... how does this work?" Kiki asked.

"Oh for Pete's sake," A creature on the other end, probably one of the Ursarings, said to her. "It detects the pulses in your body for uneasiness. When people lie, they feel uneasy inside, and this device can detect that. Are we clear?"

"Yes we are," Kiki said quickly. ...Immediately she was zapped with electricity. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"You told a lie," the Ursaring said. "I thought Pandora made it clear that if you lie, you get shocked."

"But I didn't lie," Kiki said again. ...Immediately she was zapped a second time. "Ow ho ho, my muscles."

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Alright, bring on the questions," Ruce said.

"Okay, question one," The Ursaring on Ruce's end started. "Who is the competitor you respect the most."

"That would be my sister Abigale," Ruce said without blinking.

"Okay, but of those who are still here," the Ursaring mentioned.

"Hmmm... of everyone here," Ruce said. "Well, I suppose I do admire Percy quite a bit. Although he seems a bit quiet despite his appearance. I can't think of any situation where he stood out."

"What does that mean?" the Ursaring asked.

"I guess it's that he only does well enough to get by," Ruce said. "But then again how often have his skills actually been needed?"

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"What don't you like about Percy?" the Ursaring asked Lilly.

"I think he lets that loud mouth frog off too easy," Lilly stated. I'd really like to see him actually stand up for himself as he seems a bit on the passive side."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Well... there's nothing that really stands out about him," Muffy started. "But I think if I thought hard enough maybe I could think of something."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Do you see that stupid heroic posture of his?" Grant asked. "His physique and his righteousness? I don't respect that at all."

Suddenly, Grant got shocked by the device. Apparently, Grant had more respect for him than he was letting his "evil genius" persona speak out.

"Alright, alright," Grant started. "I... really am kind of afraid of him. He's so big."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"No, I'm still thinking," Muffy stated.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"What don't I like about Percy?" Jet asked. "What oh what oh what? I am supposed to be nice, but really he's a joke! Past the first challenge, he's really done very little."

"Are you a bit jealous of him?" the Ursaring on his end asked.

"Of course not!" Jet yelled. ...He lied, obviously. His white lie cost him a body without static.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Oh yeah, I am kind of jealous of him for his bravery," Muffy said. "He's so much bigger and braver than me, and I kind of wish I was him."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"What is your opinion on Aria?" the Ursaring on her end asked.

"Aria... is... a... riot!" Kiki said. "She says the dumbest things all the time, and it's funny seeing the consequences of her actions."

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Thy does not fully trust thou," Dustin stated in his L.A.R. P. ing voice. "Thy be weary of Malamar, they be evil creatures that rarely show any true righteous traits."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"It's just a game Aria," Drenig mentioned. "I do see Riley's point, in that she often ruins things for the rest of us by pointing things out, even when they're pretty obvious."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I... I don't want to," Wren said.

"You do realize you have no choice," the Ursaring on his end mentioned.

"Well... okay," Wren started. "I don't like how she opens her mouth at the wrong times. I am trying to teach her to have better control over her words, but I'm not sure how effective my endeavor is."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Is there anything you don't like about Muffy?" the Ursaring on his end asked.

"She seems a bit on the loud side," Percy mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"She is VERY loud," Jet mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Loud. Unbelievably loud," Grant said.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"She just doesn't have the courage thing down yet," Ruce said. "I don't really think someone who lacks courage will make it in the real world."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"I don't want to say anything mean about her," Lilly said. "But yes, she does talk very loudly."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Do you have an opinion on Dustin?" the Ursaring on her end asked.

"Do I?" Kiki asked rhetorically. "His L.A.R. P. ing schtick is SUPER annoying."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"He does seem like a nice person," Wren mentioned. "What I do think is a bit odd about him is his reckless thinking. How he beat Cort, you would think he'd be able to beat Edgar just as easily. ...But then again, Edgar's a L.A.R. P. er too. ...Come to think of it further, I'd really like to see Dorval in battle against Dustin."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Why do we have to wear normal clothes and he gets that cool armor to wear?" Aria asked. "Doesn't that qualify as cheating?"

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"I... I don't want to say anything mean about my best friend," Drenig started. "But... there was one time where he threw a surprise party, and the surprise was that I was shoved into a pool by a bunch of Pokemon wearing armor and wielding shields. He knows I hate water and can't swim!"

"And you're a Krookodile?" the Ursaring asked. "I thought you guys could swim easily."

"We Krookodile prefer to swim in sand over water," Drenig stated.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"What do you dislike about Jet," the Ursaring asked.

"What DON'T I hate about him?" Ruce asked. "He's egotistical, clumsy, paranoid, dishonest..."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"...Loud-mouthed, manipulative, self-centered..."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"...Desperate, hot-headed, whiny..."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"...Idiotic, poor sportsmanship, was probably scared by a cake in the shape of a Gengar as a child or some other scary Pokemon..."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"...And he's a total jealous jerk to those who are better than him," Percy finished before flexing his muscles. "Like me."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Is there anything about Wren that sticks out?" the Ursaring asked.

"You mean besides the fact he tends to fixate on stuff like Riley?" Drenig asked. "But then again, I can't blame him. We all disliked him until last night."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"He always wants to help," Kiki mentioned. "But that also makes him very nosy. Eventually, he's going to confront the wrong person and it will bite him."

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"He's a good runner, I'll give him that," Dustin said. "But his athleticism over-all is questionable. Plus, Wren spends a lot of time around that shifty Malamar. Maybe he's not as serene as he appears."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I... I really got nothing," Aria stated. ...Another shock came her way.

"No one is perfect," the Ursaring mentioned. "There's always SOMETHING about people you don't like."

"Well... he seems a bit sensitive," Aria mentioned. "He seems very kind, but also a bit of a wimp. ...Maybe it's just me, because I'm not sure I've ever seen any real confirmation of it, but I wonder what would happen if someone really insulted him."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Now, let us talk about Grant," the Ursaring mentioned.

"What is his problem with me?" Jet asked. "He keeps accusing me of planting that page, but I didn't plant that stupid page! ...The fact I did not get shocked right now should PROVE that."

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"He's kind of a weirdo, really," Percy mentioned. "What's his obsession with acting like an evil scientist."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Anyone who goes onto a reality show and acts the way he does has some serious nerves," Lilly mentioned. "Most people should be embarrassed to act that way on television unless they're actually playing a villain. Grant however is not."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"...Isn't it obvious how much I don't like him?" Muffy asked. "The only reason I never tried to vote him off is because I dislike Jet more."

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"He tries to act all evil and what-not, but deep down he's harmless!" Ruce said. "He can't even build a decent robot!"

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Does Drenig bother you in any way?" the Ursaring asked.

"He's so easily swayed by opinions," Aria mentioned. "That hideous creature Lilly shows up, and what do you know, now Drenig wants to be a pescitarian. Might I mention that's STILL a meat-eater?"

"...No I don't see how that's relevant," Ursaring mentioned.

"I'm just saying, doing half the job is like not doing it at all," Aria said.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"He seems a bit hot headed," Kiki mentioned. "That one time with Riley? I mean Riley did go out of bounds, but he still blew up a bit too much."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I wish he had a bit more strength," Wren said. "He seems to rely heavily on being the smart guy of the group, and isn't good for much outside mechanics and throwing stuff at things. Parabola was it?"

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"He made a surprise birthday party for me and stuck me into a big wooden box where only my head showed through," Dustin started. "And then he had his other friends toss plastic horseshoes around my neck. One even hit my forehead, and sometimes I could swear I still have a mark from that."

"That wouldn't have anything to do with revenge, would it?" the Ursaring asked.

"...Did he already tell you guys about the time I got my friends to push him into a pool?" Dustin asked. "But at least no one got hurt then."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Lilly's next, what's your opinion on her?" the Ursaring asked.

"Sometimes I feel like she doesn't know how to have fun," Grant stated.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Oh what is there not to like about her?" Muffy asked. "She's assertive, brave, generous, and she knows how to stand up for herself."

"Yeah, but this isn't about the things you like about her," the Ursaring said.

"I don't want to badmouth her," Muffy said.

"Then your contestants will thank you for hogging up the line," the Ursaring mentioned.

"Er, what?" Muffy asked.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"She spends more time reading and picking berries than she does helping the team," Percy mentioned. "Come on girl, you can help out more than that."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Vegetarians don't get the needed protein in their diet," Jet said. "It's all about protein. Why do you think she's so spindly?"

"Well... she's a Gardevoir," the Ursaring mentioned. "Gardevoirs are spindly."

"Uhhhh... no comment," Jet said.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Although she's very assertive, she can also be a bit rude," Ruce mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"...Awwwwww, I don't want to offend her by saying this," Muffy said. "But to tell you the truth... I really don't like berries. I don't care for picking them either. I only do it with her cause I'm trying to be nice."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"And finally, Kiki?" the Ursaring asked.

"She's cool," Wren mentioned. "But I do kind of think she's a bit bossy at times."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"The way she treats my friend is very uncool, man," Drenig said.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"She can break apart a log with her talon?" Dustin asked. "I can't do it with a sword. ...Also, she's very mean to me."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I am very much willing to be her friend," Aria said. "But she is deep down a very anti-social person. YOU may think she's nice, but she says constantly she only likes my sarcasm cause I get punished for it. That means she ACTUALLY enjoys seeing me suffer!"

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Lastly, what don't you like about Ruce?" the Ursaring on his end asked.

"Short fuse," Percy said simply. "She spent entire episodes playing the blame game without trying to think calmly about the situation."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"I'll bet if she and her sister were in the final two, Ruce would have let Abigale win," Jet said. "Goody two-shoes."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"She's all talk," Muffy said. "She looks menacing, but she doesn't back it up. She did yesterday, but I don't even know if that was just a once in a lifetime moment."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Ruce just doesn't contribute," Lilly mentioned. "She does nothing but babysit that stupid pig."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Grant, truth time," the Ursaring on his end mentioned. "What don't you like about Ruce."

"Ummm... well... I have nothing," Grant said. ...Grant got shocked again, obviously. "Well... oh Grant, Grant, Grant. ...She's my best friend." Grant was delivered another shock from the lie detector. "Is that thing broken? I told the truth there!" Grant suffered yet another shock.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's working," the Ursaring mentioned.

"Okay, I do have better friends at home," Grant said. "But... One thing I do dislike about her is... awww... She really does kind of scare me..." ...No shock. Maybe what he said was true. "I try to be nice to her, but I still get the worry she could seriously injure me. And that is one thing I don't like about her." ...Still no shock.

"For an evil genius, you are quite cowardly," the Ursaring mentioned.

-After Confessional-

After everyone was finished, they all went back into their bunkers. Pandora was ready to tell them the next bit.

"Glad that took so long," Pandora mentioned. "I swear I caught someone sneaking around, and it gave me time to check thoroughly. Oh well, next comes the challenge. But first, I have a special surprise for all of you."

**-The Maze Of Haze-**

Eventually, some clips from the confessionals showed on the screens. The flames were about to begin as each of the contestants saw what was said about them.

Over at Artic-Uno, Percy was shown clips of him first. His reaction was... indifferent. But he did think about his actions towards Jet.

"They do have a point," Percy said. "I let you get away with a lot of things."

"Jet? What's wrong? Aren't we friends?" Jet asked.

"You blew that in the confessional, idiot!" Percy yelled before he rushed up and grabbed Jet, lifting him up in the air.

"I suppose you'd like to see YOUR comments next, Jet," Pandora said to the group before showing the clips. There was a LONG list of clips for him.

"What!?" Jet cried. "The things I do for you ungrateful louts and this is how you repay me!?"

Percy eventually dropped Jet onto the floor right before Muffy's clips showed up. They didn't say much about her, except she was loud. But Ruce said something about her courage.

"I'm doing the best I can," Muffy said. "I'm still learning about courage and being quiet."

Grant's clips were next. Grant seemed... kind of happy, really.

"Mwehehehe, that's right. Hate me," Grant said.

"So Jet didn't plant the page," Ruce said.

"Urgh! I told ya!" Jet said, sprawling about on the floor a bit.

"Does that disprove your theory Grant?" Ruce asked.

"Nope, I now know it's not him," Grant said. "My theory is on someone else."

"Why don't we look at Lilly's clips next," Pandora mentioned before showing the clip of Muffy saying she didn't enjoy berry picking.

"...Really?" Lilly asked. "You don't enjoy our time together?"

"...I'm sorry," Muffy said. "It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, it's just that... I don't really like berries or pricking my fingers on thorny bushes. Please don't be mad at me."

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Point proven on the whole courage thing," Ruce said.

-After Confessional-

Lilly took a moment to look at Muffy. It was then that she went up to her. ...And patted her on the shoulder.

"It's okay Muffy," Lilly said. "Maybe some day we can do something you like."

"Really? You're not mad?" Muffy asked.

"No, I can't be that mad," she said.

"I-I still will go berry picking with you if you want," Muffy said. "I still like spending time together."

Finally, Ruce's clips were up. She saw Grant's clip and felt a bit... sad for him.

"What's wrong?" Ruce asked. "Why do I scare you?"

"Well, Percy mentioned your short fuse," Grant mentioned. "And despite what Muffy said, you still look pretty tough."

"Well... I can't change everything about me," Ruce said. "Emotions are a hard thing to control. But you don't have to worry. I wont hurt you."

"Really?" Grant asked. "Do you mean that? I mean I've got all kinds of evil inventions to stop you, but..."

"Yes, I do mean that," Ruce said. "Unless you turn out to be that worthless slug who got my sister elminitated! ...Then we're A-okay."

"*Gulp* Then I have nothing to worry about," Grant said.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Maybe I should reconsider telling her," Grant said. "She's scaring me even more."

-After Confessional-

Of course, those were only Arti-Uno's clips. Team Zap-Dos would see theirs next.

"Let's see who we should show first," Pandora asked. "Hmmm... Let's start with Aria."

"Aria... is... a... riot!" The clip showed Kiki's words towards Aria. "She says the dumbest things all the time, and it's funny seeing the consequences of her actions."

"Well I already knew THAT from you," Aria stated.

"Thy does not fully trust thou!" Dustin's words were next.

"What? Just cause I'm a Pokemon normally associated with evil?" Aria asked. "Did someone say "Evil?" MWAHAHAHAAA! ...That was my best Grant impression. I almost kind of wish he was on our side just for that moment."

And then Aria saw Drenig and Wren's post. She already knew her sarcasm was annoying to some, but something about Wren's words made her feel inside.

"Aww, you really didn't want to hurt my feelings," Aria said. "That's why I consider you to be a good friend."

"I always try to be the best friend I can," Wren stated before crawling up to Aria and giving her a hug.

"Oh? We'll see about that," Pandora said before showing them Wren's clips. Wren saw Aria's words towards him and started to feel sad.

"You... you think I'm sensitive?" Wren asked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to say," Aria said. "I had to say something."

"What have I ever done to show you that I'm sensitive!" Wren asked.

"Well... there was the time Stawolt got eliminated," Aria mentioned. "You got quite emotional there."

"That's cause I had just made a friend, and I lost him before I got to know him!" Wren shouted.

"Well look at it this way," Aria started. "...You're kind of proving my point."

"But that's not all," Pandora said before showing the contestants Dustin's clips. Dustin rolled his eyes at Kiki.

"Thy evil dragon doubt my authenticness?" Dustin asked.

"If you were a real knight," Kiki started. "You wouldn't say "authenticness."

Next, Kiki's clips were shown. Kiki did feel a bit sorry at Aria for the things she said.

"It's... it's not that I like seeing you get hurt," Kiki started. "It's that sometimes you say really dumb things."

"Hmmmmm..." Aria hummed to herself.

"Oh boy, I think this one is going to be fun to show," Pandora said before showing Drenig's clips. One clip in particular set him off.

"...Did he already tell you guys about the time I got my friends to push him into a pool?" The video showed Dustin's comment. "But at least no one got hurt then."

"...But at least no one got hurt then."

"...**But at least no one got hurt then**."

"...What!?" Drenig shouted.

"Ooh, this is going to be fun!" Pandora cried. "I popped some popcorn for this situation."

"Really?" Kiki asked. "If you really have to bring popcorn into a situation like this, then you're being a jerk."

"No one got HURT!?" Drenig yelled.

"Yeah, those horseshoes hurt you know," Dustin said.

"Oh, and I suppose DROWNING A GROUND TYPE is COMPLETELY HARMLESS!" Drenig roared. "I COULD HAVE DIED THEN, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS **NO ONE GOT HURT!?**"

"And that justifies almost having my jugular snapped!" Dustin shouted. "At least I had my friends fish you out before anything bad happened!"

"THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY THINGS EITHER!" Drenig yelled.

"Still eating popcorn," Pandora snarked before lifting his bandana and stuffing some more kernels into his mouth. "See?"

"And I'm sure almost cracking my neck bone is PERFECTLY PEACHY!" Dustin yelled.

"But NO ONE GOT HURT!?" Drenig shouted. "You have the nerve to say NO ONE GOT HURT!?"

"You're OVER REACTING!" Dustin shouted.

"Guys, calm down," Wren said frantically.

"OH YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Drenig and Dustin shouted in unison.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Today we see the darker side of those two," Wren said. "But so what. I'm sure the two will make up eventually. Friends eventually forgive each other. ...Right? Please tell me I'm right when I say that."

-After Confessional-

"We made sure we used the lightest horseshoes we could find!" Drenig yelled. "In fact, I do recall you complaining about a broken neck, but wouldn't you have died? I mean I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'm pretty sure you can't survive a broken neck, man."

"Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but it still hurt!" Dustin yelled. "Plus, we had experienced lifeguards there at the pool to make sure you didn't drown."

"I can still melt!" Drenig shouted.

"What are you, the Malicious Malamar of the SouthWest?" Dustin asked. "Krookodiles don't melt in water."

"Okay, maybe that was also an exaggeration, but it still wasn't fun!" Drenig shout.

"Look guys, I'd love to keep watching you two fan the flames," Pandora said. "But right now you guys need to hoof it to our next challenge. ...Plus I'm out of popcorn. And right now I got a kernel shell stuck in my gums, and it's really irritating! And who made up the term "fan the flames" anyway? Dagger Eye's made me say that! But anyway, the Ursaring guards will escort you to the next challenge with blindfolds for each of you. When you get there, I will tell you MORE about the challenge, but right now **MOVE IT ALREADY!**"

Eventually, contestants were lined single file into the hunting grounds, but their fates remained unknown. Even the camera did not show the location they would be heading.

"Why do we need to wear blindfolds?" Ruce shouted to one of the Ursaring.

"It's not a secret otherwise," the Ursaring replied.

"Don't worry, I think we're almost there," Grant said.

"What!?" Ruce shouted.

"I said I think we're almost there!" Grant yelled.

"WHAT!?" Ruce shouted.

Grant didn't notice, but the contestants were being separated now, and Ruce was being taken away from Grant, making it harder for her to hear him. Eventually, the contestants were escorted to a place they have never been, each in their own chamber.

"Okay, you may take your blindfolds off," Pandora's voice rang out.

Eventually, everyone did and all they could see a big sign with a question on it. Also in each of their chambers was a big screen with Pandora's face on it. The rooms had eight doors, some of which had names. Five doors had names on them.

"Welcome to the Maze-Of-Haze," Pandora said. "I'm sure each of you have seen what your fellow team-mates have had to say about you."

"Hmph! You have a right to be sure," Jet shouted. "I mean how dare they?"

"Well, here's the object," Pandora mentioned. "Each of these signs has a question concerning things said about you and other team mates. The object of the game is to open the door of the Pokemon who concerns the question. Get it right and you move on. Get it wrong, you are either sent to a dead end OR a room that has a question with NO correct answer."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Oh great, not another intelligence challenge," Jet whined. "Why did Pandora have to exploit my one true weakness of getting average grades in school? No matter. I'll still clear this course with flying colors."

-After Confessional-

"Remember, if you end up bumping into another team mate, that means you BOTH reached an incorrect question or a dead end," Pandora added. "The end room will be big and have a rug with the word "End" on it. Are we clear? The first team to get at least FIVE members out of the Maze of Haze is the winning team. Remember, contestants can only exit from THEIR mazes. Anyone caught trying to escape someone else's maze will be disqualified. Now, if you don't mind, I think I smell a mighty strong sloth around these parts that needs to be disposed of."

"Wait, how are you supposed to know what you smell?" Lilly asked.

"I'm a Pangoro, and bear Pokemon have a good sense of smell," Pandora mentioned. "And just so you know, I know what a Slakoth smells like: very similar to his other evolutions in scent."

"Fair enough," Lilly said, rolling her eyes."

"Now, it is time for you ALL to get lost! See ya!" Pandora left with those last words. Now the competitors were on their own.

"Let's see..." Lilly started on her first question. "Which contestant said that Lilly doesn't do much to help the team. ...Hmmm... I think Jet said that one."

Lilly opened the door with Jet's name on it and entered the next room. There she saw another sign.

"Which contestant claims that Percy doesn't work out enough?" Lilly asked herself. "Hmmm, I think Jet again."

Lilly opened the next door with Jet's name and went inside. ...But inside, she was greeted by an empty room.

"Wait a minute... what was that last question?" Lilly asked herself. "Did I already take a wrong turn?"

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"I'll admit, my memory is not the greatest mind trait of mine," Lilly said. "I really don't remember many of the things said about me or others besides the ones that stuck out like Muffy's berry picking comment."

-After Confessional-

Over on Team Zap-Dos, Kiki was tackling the course. Would she do better?

"Which contestant said Kiki was bossy," Kiki said to herself. "Ugh, that stupid Watchog."

Kiki entered the door and saw another question.

"Which contestant said that Kiki has anger issues," Kiki said to herself. "Ummmm..."

Suddenly, Wren popped through a door behind her. But now they were both in the same room? That didn't seem right.

"Oh, we must have gotten our questions wrong," Wren stated.

"Wait a minute," Kiki stated. "I thought for sure Dustin said I was bossy."

"No, that was me," Wren mentioned.

"Huh? Oh, now that I think of it, you did say that," Kiki mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Wren really isn't memorable," Kiki stated. "He's too nice. Everything he says is just so quiet that it's easy to forget the things he says. If he put more anger in his words, I might have remembered the things he said."

-After Confessional-

Aria, on the other hand, seemed to be making some good progress on the maze. She was already on her third room.

"Hmph! Which contestant thinks Malamar's are evil?" Aria asked. "Dustin! Ha!" Aria opened the door and went into another room with another question. "Who thinks Wren is too much of a goody-two-shoes to the point he's nosey? Kiki! At this rate I'll be out of the maze in no time!"

While Aria was kicking butt at the course, Ruce was having more problems. She came across a question that stumped her.

"What contestant in particular thinks Jet is whiny?" Ruce asked herself. "I thought we all said that? Or maybe it was just one. It's hard to tell, everyone's list of complaints with Jet were so long. I'm going to go with Lilly."

Ruce opened the door, and on the other side she saw a confused pig looking around the room. He seemed very frantic.

"Come on, come on! Am I getting any of these right?" Grant yelled.

"Calm down little guy," Ruce mentioned. "Retrace your steps. What was your last question?"

"Which contestant did not specify Muffy was loud?" Grant said.

"I don't know that one," Ruce responded. "Wait... Muffy, of course! She was the one that called Jet whiny."

Ruce started to exit the room. But before she left, Grant stopped her.

"Hey, Ruce. Maybe I could come with you and help you with the challenge?" Grant offered. "Two heads are better than one."

"You know that's against the rules," Ruce stated.

"Is it?" Grant asked. "I don't remember."

"Yes, Pandora specifically told us to find our own exits," Ruce said.

"He never told us we couldn't tag up though," Grant mentioned.

"He kind of implied that," Ruce mentioned.

"Well maybe we could get away with it," Grant said. ...Ruce started to get suspicious.

"What are you trying to do?" Ruce asked. "Are you trying to get us disqualified on purpose?"

"No!" Grant shouted. "I just wanted to find an easier way to beat the challenge. But I guess you're right, I better go back my way."

"Yes, you really should," Ruce said.

"It's just these rooms are so... dizzying and I'm getting lost easily," Grant said.

"Then do your best!" Ruce shouted. "Stop wasting my time!"

Ruce slammed the door behind her before Grant could get another peep out. Grant smiled evily as he went back through his door.

"But wasting the team's time is the general idea," Grant said to himself.

"Ha! I think I can beat the course!" Suddenly, Grant heard a shouting from his room. It sounded like Jet. "Which contestant specifically said I was scared of a Gengar shaped cake when I was a child. Easy!"

"Yeah, that was Percy who said that," Grant said.

"Grant?" Jet shouted from his room. "No, you said that!"

"No, I'm pretty sure it was Percy," Grant called back out.

"I'm going with my gut and saying you did," Jet answered back. Eventually, Grant heard a door slam in the distance, which means Jet picked a door. ...Probably Grant's.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Wow, Jet's more formidable than I thought," Grant mentioned.

-After Confessional-

Lilly and Percy were both having a hard time with their mazes. Eventually, they too wound up in the same room together.

"Aww, not again," they said in unison.

"Wait... you're lost too?" Percy asked. "But you're the smart girl."

"I... I guess not," Lilly stated. "Not in this case anyway."

"I bet the other team's far ahead by now," Percy mentioned. "But I can't remember anything said about me."

"Those are the only thing I remember are ones said about me," Lilly stated. "What is it with you thinking I don't do much for the team?"

"Well... I don't see you really doing much..." Percy said.

"Why do you think I'm vegetarian?" Lilly asked. "Obviously I don't like killing primitives."

"You could at least gather water," Percy said.

"We still have water left from the FIRST time we gathered water," Lilly said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well... I'm sorry," Percy mentioned.

"Good, be sorry," Lilly said back.

"Wait... do you have any tips?" Percy asked.

"Just think hard," Lilly said. "All I can tell you." Lilly then exited the room and went back to clearing the maze.

"Think hard..." Percy thought. "Think... hard... Hmmm... That doesn't really help. ...Oh well." With no lead to go by, Percy went back to his room and back to challenging the course.

**-But Wait, There's More-**

Pandora watched the mazes through a monitor in his station. Eventually he noticed a breakthrough on both teams.

"Huh. That did not take very long at at," Pandora said. "It looks like Aria AND Jet have made it through the maze. But everyone else should pick up the pace."

"No, I cannot keep being hidden like this," Percy said.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Have I really contributed so little to my team?" Percy asked the screen. "I have to think hard to make it through the course. My team and my place in the game depend on me making a bigger impact on these challenges. ...But what if I'm just too slow?"

-After Confessional-

"Which contestant said Percy made them jealous," Percy said. "I thought for sure that was Jet. ...Maybe it was Ruce. No... Grant? ...No... Think! They took a long time to answer. ...Was it... Muffy?" Percy picked his head up and headed towards Muffy's door. "I suppose I have to go on," he said before proceeding through the door to the next room and the next question.

Over at Zap-Dos, both Drenig and Dustin were angrily going through the challenges. Their anger did not get either far?

"What contestant said I'm too easily swayed?" Drenig asked himself. "I can't believe Dustin would act like what he did was okay."

"Who criticized my reckless thinking?" Dustin asked himself. "It was probably Drenig, he thinks he is always right?"

"Did Dustin say that when he was trying to be nice?" Drenig said.

Eventually, they both opened each others door and came face to face with... each other.

"Ugh, why did I have to run into you?" Drenig asked. "I thought I told you I wanted alone time?"

"You said no such thing!" Dustin shouted. "You're just being a big blowhard right now!"

"I still can't believe you'd justify what you did!" Drenig shouted.

"My thoughts same with you," Dustin said.

"Well I have a challenge I need to win," Drenig said. "I'm getting to the end first!"

"Not if I have anything to do with it!" Dustin shouted. Eventually, the two left their room and continued their mazes.

Over with Artic-Uno's maze, Lilly bumped into yet another team member. It was her friend Muffy.

"Huh? You're still not through with this course yet?" Muffy asked.

"No, I guess not," Lilly said. "No time to talk, have to win."

After Lilly left, Muffy went back into the maze and tried to find her way out. She was on a wrong question, but still had to figure it out for herself. Eventually, Grant appeared in the maze next to Muffy. He was lost too.

"I cannot believe I am saying this," Grant said. "But I'm lost. I thought an evil genius like me would make quick work of this maze, but..."

"Grant, maybe you can help me," Muffy said. "I'm trying to figure out who the only contestant was who mentioned that I have anger issues."

"Oh, that was..." Grant stuttered. "I think it was Percy?"

"Can't be, I just came out of that door," Muffy mentioned.

"You're right. Now that I think of it, it was Jet," Grant mentioned.

"Are you sure?" Muffy mentioned.

"Probably, he has a lot of things to complain about," Grant mentioned.

"Okay, I'll see," Muffy said before opening the door to another dead end. "No, that just leads to another dead end," Muffy mentioned.

"Just keep trying answers till one of them works," Grant said before exiting the room.

"Wait! That doesn't give me anything to go by!" Muffy shouted out. But Grant was already gone. "Stupid pig!"

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"What is that creature's bag, anyway?" Muffy asked. "Not only is he a complete and total weirdo, but he's a total enigma. ...Wait, isn't that kind of the same thing?"

-After Confessional-

Wren had made it to his final question. "Which contestant specified Drenig as being impulsive?"

"Hmmm... What did I say?" Wren asked himself. "I think I said I wish he was stronger. But who said he was impulsive. ...Has to be Kiki, who else would have said it?"

Wren opened the door with Kiki's name on it, and went through. There, he saw a big Exit rug on the floor and Aria standing away from him.

"Hey, you made it out Wren," Aria congratulated.

"I did?" Wren asked himself before looking around. "Oh, I did. Yay for me!"

But over at Team Artic-Uno's side, Percy had also made it through not long after. It was looking tense.

"Neck and neck folks," Pandora blurted out.

Ruce heard what he just said, but felt a bit on the confident side. She was on her last door as well.

"Not for long, brat king," Ruce mentioned before reading her questions. "Who said that Grant is doing something on TV that most people would be embarrassed to do or watch? Hmmm..."

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Now that I think of it, don't we all think that?" Ruce asked. "You can't like acting like a real villain SO MUCH that you're proud of it enough to do it on television. ...What if he's a legit villain? ...Nah."

-After Confessional-

"Easy," Ruce blurted out. "It was Lilly, she said that about Grant. ...Wait, do I need to blurt out my answers? Can't I just choose the door?"

Ruce went through Lilly's door and out to the end where Percy and Jet were. Jet was feeling pretty happy.

"Ha! Only two more need to come out," he said. "Then victory will be mine, as usual."

"Yours?" Percy asked. "You mean "Ours" right?"

"Well, you guys helped of course, but..." Jet was cut off by Percy.

"Jet, I want to let you know that I've had an epiphany lately," Percy started. "The others made me realize the things I've let you get away with. Well, no more mister nice Purugly. Got it?"

Percy stared Jet straight in the eye to make sure he was getting the point across. Jet started to cower before him.

"Yes Percy," Jet whimpered.

But problems arose in the Zap-Dos maze. Kiki was looking through her maze then came across another question.

"What contestant said Wren was a bit sensitive," Kiki thought for a moment. "Aria, I think."

But before she opened the door, she heard some shouting.

"Again!" Kiki heard Drenig yell.

"Ugh, you just came to egg it on again, didn't you?" That was Dustin.

Kiki realized she would have to steer off her course to do something about the two. Kiki untied her karate belt to use it as a trail. It was long enough to stretch into two rooms over, but she needed to go through three to get to where Drenig and Dustin were.

"No! I came by accident!" Drenig shouted.

"You left your horseshoes at the bunker, right?" Dustin said.

"Or maybe you plan to drown me in the pond next chance you get!" Drenig yelled.

"Why don't you take responsibility for your actions!?" Dustin shouted.

"Why don't you both!?" Kiki butted in.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Drenig asked.

"You know you two can't stay mad forever," Kiki said. "And right now, we have a game to win."

"He started the whole thing!" Dustin shouted.

"You were BOTH in the wrong with the things you did," Kiki mentioned. "You may not realize it, but no one's perfect. We all get into arguments from time to time. That's part of being a mortal creature."

"But he tried to drown me," Drenig mentioned. "I'm just supposed to forgive him for saying no one got hurt?"

"And I'm just supposed to stand here and let him try to justify things?" Dustin asked. Kiki let out a sigh.

"This may take a while," Kiki said.

Meanwhile, Kiki was nearing the end of the maze. But she started to get worried. She could have swore she heard crying in the distance.

"Muffy?" Lilly asked herself. Eventually, Lilly started back through the maze. Eventually, she ran into Grant.

"Huh? Why are you going backwards?" Grant asked.

"Not now!" Lilly mentioned before running off. "I have to find Muffy."

"She's fine," Grant said. "She's probably just being emotional."

"...She's defeating herself," Lilly said. "I can tell. Maybe Ruce was right, maybe she doesn't have the courage thing down."

"Fine, but I'm going to win," Grant said before going through a door to another room.

Lilly ran straight to Muffy where she really did seem to be crying. Lilly felt a bit sorry.

"I can't do it," Muffy said. "Muffy don't remember everything contestants said."

"This is not a brave thing for you to do," Lilly mentioned. "You're tougher than this."

"Oh, who am I kidding," Lilly said. "Maybe Yoshi was wrong about me, maybe I'm not fit to be brave."

"Muffy, pull yourself together!" Lilly said. "Don't think that, you can be very brave."

"But that won't help me solve the puzzle," Muffy said.

"We can't do anything but our best," Lilly said. "But crying solves nothing. Besides, you're letting the other team win."

"What!?" Muffy cried. "No! I don't want to lose!"

"Then sit up and fight the course like a Granbul should!" Lilly exclaimed.

"You are right!" Muffy cried.

"Who has the meanest most terrifying growl in Quarantine?" Lilly encouraged.

"I do!" Muffy cried.

"Who's ready to kick some bully butt?" Lilly encouraged some more.

"I am!" Muffy cheered.

"That's the Muffy I want to see," Lilly said. "We can still win this! Don't give up!"

"**ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!**" Muffy's loud roar could be heard through the entire course.

"...Yeah... Roar and such," Lilly said. "Now let's go!"

Eventually, the two were out on the course again, trying to get through the best they could. They didn't want anything to stop them now.

Back with Kiki, she was trying to tell Drenig and Dustin to stop fighting. When suddenly she heard an announcement.

"Attention, Artic-Uno needs one more member to win," Pandora called out. "Grant has escaped my maze."

"Okay, listen you two," Kiki said. "You're best friends. You both have differences, but you both need to set them aside. Dustin, you should be sorry of you and your friends actions, as what you did was hazardous to your friend's life. And Drenig, you too."

Dustin and Drenig looked at each other for a moment. They started to look said.

"Maybe she's right," Dustin said. "I'm sorry I had my friends push you into the pool. And I'm sorry for pretending it was a harmless prank."

"I... I'm sorry for having my friends throw horseshoes at you," Drenig stated. "It was wrong of me to get revenge for that."

They both shook claws and paws, then gave each other a hug. But they had to get going.

"Come on, we have to hurry," Kiki said.

They all started racing out of the room and resumed their mazes. They were trying their hardest to scramble. But so were Lilly and Muffy. Each of the teams tried their hardest to look through each door for the answer, and to remember every single question. First, Dustin came out. Then Drenig escaped his prison. But Kiki, Muffy and Lilly were racing as hard as they could. Eventually, a winner emerged. The first of the three to exit their maze was...

...

...Muffy! Muffy had made it out of her maze first, and had given Team Artic-Uno it's fifth member. Kiki exited her maze next, and finally Lilly.

"I did it! I beat the maze!" Muffy yelled proudly.

"It looks like we have a winner," Pandora said. "Muffy exited first, which means five members have exited before Team Zap-Dos!"

"We did it guys! We won!" Jet said.

"**HOWEVER!**" Pandora shouted.

"However?" Muffy questioned. "I don't like the sound of "however."

"After carefully reviewing the footage," Pandora started. "It has come to my attention that Grant had exited out of someone elses exit. And I specifically said by the rules to exit out of your own exit! Therefor, Team Artic-Uno is disqualified!"

"What!?" Ruce shouted before she turned and stared at Grant. Everyone gathered around the Grumpig and stared angrily. Grant clacked his hooves together and waved his fingers innocently.

"He he he, oops," Grant said, seeming to be nervous about things.

"Therefor, Team Zap-Dos is the winner," Pandora shouted.

Everyone on Team Zap-Dos side started to cheer. ...Everyone except Kiki, who shook her head at the thought of winning only by default. Her mind was disrupted after Drenig and Dustin held her shoulder.

"Thanks for talking us out of anger," Drenig said.

"We'll try to patch things up later," Dustin said.

"But wait, there's more," Pandora said. "We have arranged a prize and a punishment for both teams. Please enter the door away from you."

Both teams saw the room they were in and also two more big doors, one for each team. The teams walked up to their doors, opened them a walked in. ...Where they each saw the same thing. They were now on the edge of what appeared to be a large lava pit.

"Well? Jump in," Pandora said.

"Why are you doing this?" Wren asked.

"Why do you think? It's for revenge," Pandora mentioned. "And if you don't jump in, I'll have my Ursaring guards OW that hurt!"

Pandora seemed to have been poked by a long black claw. Pandora turned around and saw a Vigoroth who was wearing a tan business shirt saying "Wyler's Beds."

"Not this again," Aria scoffed.

"Bed salesman by day, master spy by whenever I am needed," Wyler said. "That's me: The one and only Wyler!"

"This is just some cheesy advertisement," Aria stated.

"Bah! Where did you come from?" Pandora asked.

"More importantly, why are you in my spot?" Eventually the camera shifted and showed Bertram with a helmet in his hand. He was free of control.

"Oh no... What do I do now Dagger Eyes?" Pandora blurted out.

"Now, you will be electrocuted," Bertram said before slamming his cane down and summoning a bolt of lightning near Pandora. Wyler even started towards Pandora, trying to keep on his persuit.

"Arg! Retreat!" Pandora shouted. "This is not over! I will get my revenge!"

Eventually, Wyler chased Pandora off the screen. Bertram shook his head and resumed his duties as host.

"Hmph, kind of a wuss, don't you think?" Bertram said. "Now where was I? Oh yes, it came to my attention that Zap-Dos had won the challenge. Today, they shall bask in the glory of conquest. A crown upon each of their heads and a robe to match as they are escorted to a royal palace. They will all be layed down on luxurious beds where for one night, they will spend a day at a massage spa."

"Whoa! Sweet!" Drenig cried.

"A crown fit for kings and queens, as we are royalty," Dustin said.

"Yes, in our Spa treatment, we have hired many taskmasters," Bertram said. "Dizzy's drinks will provide you with elegant luscious smoothies of your choosing while masseuses of Garrets Relaxing Experience bring relief to all your soar muscles. And it wouldn't be a spa without a HOT TUB, which you get to keep for the rest of the entire continuity of the game!"

"Wow... That's the best prize yet," Ruce mentioned.

"Thanks a lot, Grant!" Muffy yelled.

"And now, to get you out," Bertram said. Eventually, he held up a control switch, pressed it, and bridges came out of the platforms the teams were standing on. These bridges shot out to another door. Eventually, both teams followed the bridge to the door, and they were both on their ways home.

**-Doom or Bye?-**

Zap-Dos was given their promised crowns and robes, even though the crowns were plastic and the robes were just red blankets with white fluff. They were then escorted to said palace, which was really just their bunker with a bunch of strangers. However, the promised hot tub was right outside their bunker, and back at the camp, five massage beds were in place, each with a cheerful looking Machamp standing by them. Also in a room, a happy Spinda was standing at a counter with all sorts of berries, gummies, and goodies.

"How cheap," Aria said. "Just cheap child's clothing and the palace is just our castle."

"Who cares?" Dustin said, immediately gravitating toward one of the massage tables. "Our own masseuses and barista? Give it your all!"

"Uhhh... I'm not licensed to massage through thick armor," the Machamp at his table said.

"What? Thou must take his prized possession off?" Dustin asked. "...Okay."

As Dustin was getting undressed, Kiki and Drenig were getting a drink.

"Welcome you two," Dizzy the Spinda said. "What will it be?"

"Give me a tropical fizzy," Dustin said happily. "One Pinap berry, one Starf berry, one Nanab berry and one Pomeg berry."

"Give me something spicy," Kiki said. "Whatever you think is best for a spicy drink. I need a pick-me-up after that."

"What's wrong?" Drenig asked. "Are you mad?"

"...We won by default," Kiki said.

"So?" Drenig asked. "Why is that a bad thing?"

"It means our opponent played dishonorably," Kiki mentioned. "That stupid little pig! I hope he gets kicked off right away."

"Don't worry, I see no reason he won't," Drenig stated.

The other three were enjoying their massages quite well. Aria decided to share something with Wren.

"You know, if you ever want a massage when there's no one to massage you," Aria started. "Just imagine yourself getting a massage. Even watching or reading about people getting massages makes you feel relaxed. ...But not much compares to the real thing."

Suddenly, there was a crashing noise outside. Everyone picked their heads up.

"What was that?" Wren asked.

"Oh, probably nothing we should be concerned about," Aria stated.

She was right, it did not concern them. Over at Artic-Uno, they had just gotten back to their bunkers. They were still angry at Grant, but Grant tried to make things better.

"Oh man. I thought for sure I was going the right way," Grant said.

"Why do I have a hard time believing that?" Muffy asked.

"I mean it, though," Grant said. "I wish I could make it up to the team."

"Forget it, kid," Percy said. "Nothing against you, but you have not exactly been useful to the team."

"He has a point," Lilly said. "When have you ever excelled at a challenge? Never!"

"Oh come on, give me a chance," Grant whined.

"Sorry Grant, but I think your time ran out," Ruce said.

"Hey Lilly," Muffy started. "Can... Can we go berry picking at the shore? I want to see the sunset."

"Good idea," Lilly said. "They have Pinap and Nanab berries there, I could go for some."

Eventually, the two left the room. Percy and Jet seemed ready to leave.

"Whatever, we're going hunting," Jet said.

"Don't forget," Percy mentioned. "Make one rude comment, and bad things will happen."

"Eek, yes Percy," Jet said.

Eventually, they left too. This left only Ruce and Grant at the Bunker.

"I guess there's nothing left of me now," Grant said. "You guys are sending me home for this challenge."

"Probably," Ruce confirmed.

"Before I go, I should tell you that I found out who planted the page," Grant said.

"Really?" Ruce asked. "Who would that be?"

"Well it turns out that someone left a clue on the page in the form of a print," Grant said. "I was able to decipher that print."

"Was it Percy?" Ruce asked. "He was the only one who touched the page as we saw."

"Or so it would seem," Grant said. "You see, right before that, someone planted the page there and left prints."

"Okay, get to the point, who did it?" Ruce asked.

"That's simple," Grant started. "The one who planted the page there... was me!"

"Wait, what!?" Ruce asked.

"That's right, I did it! I planted the page," Grant confessed.

"WHAT!?" Ruce yelled.

"I helped get rid of that ugly little furry," Grant stated. "And the team helped too. They were ALL responsible for her elimination."

"You worthless piece of TRASH!?" Ruce yelled.

"Of course I did, she made a promise and she broke it," Grant said. "So we offed her from the show. She really was a stupid contestant. So weak and insignificant."

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER THAT WAY!" Ruce roared.

"And YOU are just as weak," Grant said. "You and your stupid bunny ears and empty threats, you're as much of a joke as your sister is!"

"**I AM GOING TO PULVERIZE YOU!**" Ruce screamed.

"That's right! Hate me! Hate me you pathetic..." Ruce immediately rushed up to Grant before he finished talking and forcefully grabbed him by the arms. "Ow! Not my favorite Halloween costume... I mean every-day clothes."

"**YOU DIRTY LITTLE CHEATER!**" Ruce screamed. "**SHE DID NOTHING MAJOR TO YOU AND YOU BETRAYED HER!? I TRUSTED YOU YOU SACK OF PUTRID GRIMER WASTE!**"

"Let go of me!" Grant whined. "She betrayed me!"

Grant eventually got out of her grip and then ran over to his robot. He picked up the controller and pushed buttons on it.

"Go get her, robot minion!" Grant cried.

...But Ruce easily walked up to it and grabbed the robot minion. She lifted it over her head and launched it into the wall. The robot shattered into pieces.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Grant screamed. "My Ultimate Destructo Robot of Dooohoohoohoohooooom."

Eventually, team members were coming back to the bunkers and they heard Ruce shouting fury. They each opened the room and saw Ruce running after a scared Grant. She got him into a corner and Grant cowered like a child.

"Help me! She's going to hurt me!" Grant said.

"You STUPID WORTHLESS PIG!" Ruce shouted. "YOU GOT MY SISTER ELIMINATED!"

"NO! You didn't let me completely finish," Grant whined. "You just jumped to conclusions. THEY voted your sister off. I tried to help her."

"YOU ARE SO GONE, GRANT!" Ruce roared.

"ARGH! Percy! Muffy! Help!" Grant whined.

"They won't help you!" Ruce shouted before turning to the group. "They'll get rid of you just like they got rid of my sister!"

The group started to back away from the Bunker. Ruce needed time to cool off.

-Confessional Session(Ruce)-

"Oh I cannot wait to see Grant go home!" Ruce shouted. "He's getting what's coming to him!"

-After Confessional-

It was time for the groups to head off to the Quarantine Chamber. Ruce kept an angry face on Grant the whole time. Bertram did the usual passing of the milk before starting the ceremony.

"This game refuses to stay one-sided," Bertram said. "You two teams keep taking turns sending people home. Well today, one more will go home."

"Just get on with it!" Ruce shouted angrily.

"Right," Bertram started. "Here are the contestants who are safe today. Lilly, you are safe."

"Uh... yay," Lilly said shakily.

"Jet!" Bertram called out. "How does it feel to NOT be on the chopping block?"

"Eheheh... terrific!" Jet said, also shaken.

"Percy! You and Muffy can join Lilly and Jet in tomorrow's episode," Bertram stated.

"Ha ha ha... great," Muffy said, also shaken. Percy seemed to be the most calm of the group. Grant was still cowering.

"Oh..." Grant whined, trying to crouch below Ruce's glare.

"And finally," Bertram started. "The last team member staying with us today is...

...

...

..."

"Oh, why did it have to end this way?" Grant whined.

"Grant!" Bertram shouted. "You are safe."

"**WHAAAAAAAAAT!?**" Ruce roared. "You mean to tell me that the team is sending ME home instead of that TRAITOROUS..."

"Calm down, Ruce," Bertram said shakily. "The team did blame Grant for losing the challenge, but the team also agreed that YOU are dangerous!"

"DANGEROUS!?" Ruce shouted. "So what if I'm overprotective of my sister! It's not like I was really going to hurt him!"

"Be that as it may, I'm afraid they have chosen you to leave," Bertram said, as rattled by her as the others were.

"NO! That stupid pig cheated!" Ruce said.

"Uhhh... little help please?" Bertram said. As he called out, a couple of Gurdur came out and grabbed Ruce and started dragging her to the Quarantine Chamber.

"ARGH! THIS ISN'T OVER, GRANT!" Ruce yelled. "YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU DESERVE IN THE END!"

They threw her into the Quarantine Chamber and closed it up. Bertram went over to started the gas.

"I banish this rage-aholic Azumarill to the outskirts," Bertram said. "Big blue bunny BEGONE!"

Bertram pressed the gas button and watched Ruce pound away at the glass. She was furious at Grant for what she said. Eventually, the gas covered the room for about a minute. ...But when the gas cleared, Ruce was still there. She was struggling against more Gurdur.

"She won't go cleanly," one of the Gurdur excused.

"Let go of me! That pig should be here!" Ruce yelled.

"Just drag her out," Bertram cried. "Get her out of hear!"

"**RAAAAAAAAAARGH!**" was the last thing you heard from Ruce after the Gurdur dragged her out of the chamber.

"Oh dear, maybe I don't have the scariest growl anymore," Muffy stated.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Ha! Hook, line and sinker Ruce!" Grant shouted. "I can't believe that my awesomely eeeeevil plan to get rid of her worked! Phase two completed! Onto phase... Ugh..."

Grant stopped for a moment. He seemed... guilty.

"What have I done?" he asked himself. "Did I really manipulate too competitors? This isn't like me. ...Ha! Well it is now! Once you go bad, you don't go back."

-After Confessional-

"Well... that was interesting," Bertram said as the group went back. "Made me remember how mature Abigale was compared to... Ruce. Well... tomorrow, Artic-Uno and Zap-Dos are no more. The merge will commence and more thrills will be had. So tune in next time for another episode of Quarantine. Until then we say..."

"Mwahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!" There was another laugh in the background.

"Oh, not again!" Bertram whined.

"He he, sorry, just me." Bertram looked over and saw Grant was still there.

"Shoo, subject!" Bertram cried out. Grant retreated back to the bunker. "Until next episode, we say goodbye to you AND that scary bunny for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Welcome all to Team Mol-Tres!"_

_Bertram merges the teams for the next episode._

_"YOU are not supposed to be here!"_

_The remaining competitors are split into five teams of two for another challenge._

_"Time to meet my new team."_

_The last team to clear a course obstacles must duel each other in one more battle._

_"Bring it on! He's going down!"_

_No votes to be had, loser of the duel goes home._

_"Where does Bert come up with all of this?"_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Ingredients To Success._


	10. Chapter 10: Ingredients to Success

Chapter 10: Ingredients To Success

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"Eeeeee! It works!" Grant shouted. "It finally works!"_

_Contestants got another take-over from Dagger Eye's minions._

_"Ha! I know one way to put them in their place."_

_Pandora made the contestants unload all their complaints about the other contestants, and some were REALLY feeling the burn._

_"...Sometimes I could swear I still have a mark from that."_

_The flames began and the sparks flew._

_"I COULD HAVE DIED THEN, AND ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY IS __**NO ONE GOT HURT!?**__"_

_Later, they were all put in a maze they had to navigate. And some competitors broke out in a fit._

_"I can't do it. Muffy don't remember everything contestants said."_

_But in a mad dash to the finish, competitors found a way out._

_"We did it guys! We won!"_

_Artic-Uno WOULD have won, except one of the contestants ended up cheating, disqualifying the team from the challenge._

_"He he he, oops."_

_Grant played his last trump card of the game by tricking fellow competitor Ruce into rage._

_"__**I AM GOING TO PULVERIZE YOU!**__"_

_Shockingly, Grant's eeeeeeevil plan worked, and Ruce was sent home for her dangerous attitude._

_"Let go of me! That pig should be here!"_

_It's the halfway point of the series. What was once eighteen contestants is now merely ten. But it is still ANYONE'S game to win. ...Well except for Dylon, Pudge, Stawolt, Abigale, Yoshi, Chauncey, Riley or Ruce's game, but other than those losers it is STILL anyone's game._

**-Like a Phoenix, They Die and Are Reborn-**

The Zap-Dos team was enjoying their nice relaxing hot tub. ...Or at least were trying to. But the noise generating over at Artic-Uno was really disrupting their time.

"Ugh, would it have killed Bertram to set the hot tub somewhere more quiet?" Aria complained.

"What is going on over there?" Kiki asked. "It sounds like one of those awful horror movies?"

"You STUPID WORTHLESS PIG! YOU GOT MY SISTER ELIMINATED!" This could be heard way on the other side.

"Ay, sounds like a party," Drenig stated.

"A party?" Wren asked. "That sounds pleasant to you?"

"Wren, I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic," Aria mentioned.

"Oh, sorry about that," Wren said.

"Too bad the cups Dizzy uses aren't chalice shaped," Dustin stated. "Oh well, we have to think about our position as a team. If you've seen reality shows before, you know there's eventually going to be a merge. Will we still be friends then?"

"Of course, Dustin," Drenig stated. "We're a team now, and we always will be."

"Though I think it might be fair to befriend members of the other team too," Kiki stated.

"True, maybe the other team has friendly faces as well," Wren suggested.

"I really would like to give that Lilly chick a visit," Aria said.

"I AM BEING PERFECTLY RATIONAL!" Another yell from the other bunker errupted.

"I would really rather not," Kiki stated. "You just want to pick fights with her."

"No... honest," Aria said.

"Right, you want revenge for a past comment, don't you?" Kiki stated.

"Wait, what?" Wren mentioned.

"What do you think she meant by yesterday's comment about Drenig being swayed by that vegetarian?" Kiki asked.

"I... I don't know," Wren said. "When did that happen Aria?"

"Uhhh... why not just change the subject," Aria said. "It's something I'd rather not talk about."

"...Alright then," Wren said. "Well, in any case I hope we stay a team."

"To Team Zap-Dos!" Aria cheered. "May we always be friends."

"...I'm still not sure I trust you around Lilly," Kiki said.

"I... I just wanted to apologize for a past comment," Aria stated. "That's really all I wanted."

"Okay," Kiki said. "But I'll hold you accountable for it."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Ugh, I hope I can get rid of that stupid vegan girl as soon as possible," Aria said. "I do not feel comfortable around her or her vegan logic. You know how many members of my gospel group are vegetarians? That's right, zero. It's unhealthy to eat that way, you don't get needed protein."

-After Confessional-

The contestants had a hard time sleeping, as there was much noise outside, but they found their rest eventually. Eventually, morning struck, and at Team Artic-Uno, Grant was trying to reassemble his robot.

"Stupid Ruce," Grant said. "I'm so glad she's gone."

Grant looked at the other contestants and noticed they were all sleeping. Grant walked away outside of the group. He wanted time to talk to himself.

"Now... who to take out next?" Grant asked. "Who is the biggest threat on the team? Hmmm... What to do what to do. ...Oh well, I'll figure things out. Phase 3 part one begins now. Ha! No one will get the money."

Grant eventually clutched his head and then turned around. He started to mutter more nonsense.

"No. Grant very sorry for what he did," Grant said. "It was the evil idea's that swayed me to do the things I've done." He then switched places again. "But now I am at the power of evil, and I can do what I want with it. ...Oh what does that creature say? From Master of the Hoops, he starts talking to himself and starts switching personalities from the evil avaricious being to a cowardly manipulative one? I think I'm way off but I wish I could..."

Suddenly, Grant stopped when he heard a loud trumpet going off. He looked to the source of the noise and saw Bertram at the top near the Quarantine Chamber area. He was playing a trumpet, and eventually he had Betty join in on another trumpet. Then Mignon joined in on a third trumpet. It woke up all the contestants, and they rushed outside to see the show Bertram was putting on.

But eventually, the contestants eyes strayed away from Bertram, and saw the picture. Betty and Mignon were both playing atop bastions similar to the ones on Zap-Dos' bunkers, except there were red and orange flags instead of yellow and black ones. And below, they could see the wall had roof shingles and a big glass mosaic on it like the Artic-Uno bunkers, except the mosaic had a Moltres on it instead of Articuno. And between the bastions and below the mosaic was a door, a door where a wall used to be. The contestants looked around and noticed the wall separating them was gone. They could see the other team. The contestants figured out what was going on, but Bertram had to announce it anyway.

"Morning ex-teams," Bertram said to the remaining ten. "If you haven't noticed, the wall is now gone. Do you know what that means?"

"That we're merging?" Lilly asked.

"Hey, that was my line," Bertram said. "But yes, we are merging today. So in honor of that..."

Bertram pointed to a bunch of Gurdurs near the bunkers. Ones on Artic-Uno's side were covering up the Artic-Uno windows, while the ones over at Zap-Dos' side were taking the flags down.

"We are destroying all evidence of Team Artic-Uno and Team Zap-Dos. Fellow subjects... Welcome all to Team Mol-Tres!"

Bertram watched as the contestants stood there. Apparently he was expecting an applause.

"Well? Don't just stand there, go inside and see what the bunker has in store for you," Bertram said.

And so the contestants did. When they got inside, they saw all sorts of cool things, including beds from the Zap-Dos bunker, but the walls of the Artic-Uno bunker. there were several tables, a box of sports goods, some board games which no one actually aquired as a prize, and bookshelves stocked with books. And of course, a screen above the door which Bertram was already on.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Bertram said. "Yeah, the other two bunkers will be converted into a bathroom and a kitchen respectively. Now you can cook the food you catch in many new ways. Plus, a fridge for storing your food items, which means you can make a big haul one day, and have more play time the next few days. Any questions?"

"Uhh, yeah I got one," Jet said. "Why are there ten contestants but only nine beds?"

"Isn't it obvious enough?" Lilly asked. "By the end of the day, there are only going to be nine of us. That tenth competitor won't get a bed to themselves."

"STOP BACK-SEAT HOSTING!" Bertram yelled. "But that is precise. You will ALL have to play one more challenge before you can truly be a part of Team Mol-Tres."

"Okay, what's the sitch now?" Aria asked.

"All in good time my friends," Bertram stated. "In the mean time, get to know your new team members. Also you still have hunting to do. Thank you."

Bertram immediately left the contestants in the dark. Now was a good chance for everyone to get to know each other.

"Well, time to meet my new team," Wren said to himself.

"Uhhh... hello," Percy said to the group. "So... welcome to team Mol-Tes I guess. I am Percy. I guess I've been the bran of the group since day one."

"Oh, don't even remind me of day one," Kiki stated. "You're the one who basically just trolled us in the first challenge."

"You STILL remember that?" Drenig asked.

"I... just wanted to give you guys a chance," Percy said.

"Well Muffy didn't enjoy her mud bath either," Muffy said. "They say it's supposed to be relaxing to bathe in mud, but that was anything but."

"...Does she always talk in third person?" Aria asked.

"That's always been a habit of mine as a kid," Muffy said. "Especially one day at school when I was a wee Snubble, Muffy got a part as a character who talked in third person. Muffy really had fun playing that character, so I often find myself talking in third person a lot. ...It's the one good memory I have from school."

"Sad sad pitiful creature," Aria stated.

"Aria, knock it off!" Wren shouted.

"Oh, sorry. I meant that's more good memories than I had at school," Aria mentioned. "You can talk in third person all you want."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I'm begining to doubt whether making friends with Aria was a good thing," Wren said. "She's a nice person deep down, but she thinks with her lips. Everything that urks her, she just has to let people know. I wish she would stop herself from saying such insulting things."

-After Confessional-

"Ooh hoo hoo, I like you," Grant said. "Call me Grant the Dastardly. And you might be, beautiful Malamar?"

"Uhhh, my name is... Aria," she responded.

"Ooh and such heavenly voice as well," Grant said. "Care to rule the world with me?"

"...Is he still here?" Kiki asked. "Am I really seeing this right? The dude cost you a challenge yesterday, and you forgave him?"

"We didn't forgive him," Lilly started. "It's just that we felt our lives were at stake if we kept Ruce in the competition."

"Oh boy, you should have seen that face of hers," Jet stated. "She was like "I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who dare poison and betray my sister!"

"Citric Fantasy," Aria blurted out. "Same movie that brought you "English: Do you speak it?"

"Wait, what?" Jet asked.

"...No one's seen Citric Fantasy?" Aria asked.

"Ay man, I've seen it," Drenig said. "That's one of my favorites!"

"Do you think I might like that movie?" Wren asked.

"Ehh... it's a bit mature to be honest," Drenig said.

"Hey! You haven't even said a word," Muffy said to Dustin.

"Thy has no reason to speak if thou is not called upon," Dustin said. "My name is Dustin."

"Great," Muffy said. "You and Grant can share L.A.R. P. ing tips."

"Don't lump me and that fool together!" Grant shouted.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's STILL more normal than you," Kiki said.

"Can we go hunting now?" Wren asked. "I'm getting hungry."

"Ooh, that's calling my name there," Jet said. "Percy can stay here though, he can afford to not eat for a..."

Eventually, Percy wrapped his arm around Jet and then put him into a submission lock. He told Jet bad things would happen if he made any comments, and now bad things were happening.

"Okay! Okay! You can come!" Jet cried.

"Good. Glad I have your permission," Percy said, releasing Jet.

Some contestants decided to hunt, while others went to pick berries. Drenig decided to follow Lilly and Muffy along on their berry picking adventure. Dustin tagged along with him.

"I think I'm getting the hang of pescitarianism," Drenig told Lilly. "I've been trying to limit the meat I cosume to white meat."

"That's cool, but I never told you to do that for me," Lilly said. "I'm not like meat-eaters, I could care less what other people's diets are as long as they don't shove their diets in my face."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"That's a common stereotype associated with vegetarians is that we want to force our diets on others," Lilly stated. "While it's true for some vegetarians, it's ALSO true for some meat eaters as well. Can you imagine all the Tauros I have to put up with at home over eating meat. And if I hear the tasty murder joke one more time... Not sure what I'd do, but but it wouldn't hurt anyone. Still wouldn't be pleasant."

-After Confessional-

"Eh, I wanted to do it," Drenig said. "I felt sorry for my food, and it got too much. Plus now that I think of it, Aria's ranting about it did make me a bit annoyed.."

"Huh, seems to me some meat eaters have an easier time converting people to a plant based diet than we vegetarians can," Lilly said. "Very strange."

"Ha ha ha ha, that was funny," Muffy said.

"What, did I say something wrong?" Lilly asked.

"No, it was that bit of sarcasm at the end," Muffy stated.

"I found that funny too," Dustin said. "You know, you have a better handle of sarcasm than Aria does."

"I've only known you for a few minutes, and I honestly already enjoy being around you more than her," Drenig said. "But then again... maybe we never bonded."

What they didn't know was that Aria was listening in on them. She decided to go berry picking as well, and brought Wren with her. She could hear the things they said about her.

"Yeah, I got no problems with you," Dustin said.

"I don't mean to be rude," Lilly said. "But Aria seemed to have a pretty loud mouth, and her views are very skewed." This made Aria open her beak.

"Oh, she can't be all bad," Muffy said.

"You even met her?" Lilly asked.

"Not much yet," Muffy said. "We haven't spoken to each other, but she made a comment about me earlier. Muffy found it insulting, but... Muffy isn't perfect either."

"She's ALWAYS opening that big mouth of hers, man!" Drenig shouted. "She has no better judgement! She doesn't know when to quit!"

"Okay, maybe she is all bad," Muffy said. "I haven't seen her act pleasent yet myself."

"And she ruins the game!" Dustin yelled. "We get fun challenges and Aria picks them apart all the time."

"At first it wasn't a big deal," Drenig said. "But now I'm starting to find it annoying too. I wonder why I didn't notice I was annoyed by it when I voted Riley off. Maybe because it didn't get to the point where I realized I was annoyed. But I don't know how that works. But sometimes, I wish I voted for her instead."

Aria really started to feel a bit upset with what they were saying. Eventually, Wren walked up to her. Wren was oblivious to the conversation the others were having.

"Hey, Aria! Are you alright?" Wren asked.

"Huh?" Aria woke up and looked at Wren. "I don't even know anymore."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"What is this Lilly character, is she some kind of succubus or something?" Aria asked. "My former team mates who I THOUGHT were friends all of a sudden don't like me after they meet Lilly. Ugh, now I'm really starting to hate her."

-After Confessional-

Not much happened over at the hunting grounds. Percy kept Jet's mouth shut and Kiki was helping them on their hunting trip. Grant just watched and said stereotypical comments about being evil and what-have-you. But soon, the game changer would be revealed.

**-Mismatched Pairs-**

When Aria and Wren were done, Aria decided to make herself useful and head straight to the kitchen where she started to prepare for a cooking session. She looked around the bunker and saw they stripped it of all the castle theme while they were gone. The only thing that remained was the trapdoor to the cannons. Wren was being a friend by helping her prepare. ...But deep down, Aria felt sad.

"...Am I unpleasant?" Aria asked.

"You can be at times," Wren said. "You really need to learn to control your words."

"But people didn't start disliking me till now," Aria stated. "I think that worthless Lilly is manipulating Dustin and Drenig."

"No she's not!" Wren shouted. "Maybe it's because they never thought hard about it till now."

"Yeah, well I don't know about you, but I don't trust her," Aria said.

"Why, what did she really do to you?" Wren asked. Aria stopped for a moment.

"She said some very nasty things about me as a meat eater," Aria said.

"What do you mean?" Wren asked.

"She insulted meat eaters as if we are like the biggest form of scum ever," Aria said.

"When did this happen?" Wren asked.

"It happened when you went away on your Jhotan adventure," Aria mentioned. "She came here, and she said the most insulting things I could possibly imagine! She thinks all meat eaters are scum and wants them destroyed!"

"Wait, why do Drenig and Dustin trust her then?" Wren asked.

"You fool, Drenig's only pretending to be friendly towards her, and Dustin is just playing along," Aria said. "At least I hope that's the case."

"But what about Kiki?" Wren asked. "She didn't seem to approve of you talking to her."

"Wait a minute... Psychic control, it has to be," Aria mentioned.

"How is that even possible even if it wasn't against the rules?" Wren asked.

"I don't even know anymore," Aria said. "Maybe they just don't see what I dislike about her so much."

"I'm not even sure what to think," Wren said.

"And I bet they're all going to vote me out soon," Aria said. "I really would like money for my Gospel group. I mean we're in no danger of disbanding, we get by and all, but an income boost would help our cause."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Now that I think of it, we all have causes we're fighting for," Wren stated. "I don't want the prize for anything in particular, but I do want it for whatever I might want, like video games, DVDs, posters, Arcade trips, swimming pools, and also a good sum of money stashed away for emergencies like if our house sets on fire or a family member needs surgery or something."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, everyone arrived back at the bunkers, and Aria was able to make the new team breakfast. But it did not take long for Bertram to arrive on the scene.

"Hello again, subjects," Bertram said as he popped up on the screen.

"You're STILL doing the whole "Subjects" thing?" Kiki asked.

"Quite so," Bertram said. "Now, order of business: Savil has run out of potion and needs YOU to get potion ingredients, including Big Root, Reviver Seed and the Red Herbs which made the potion. But this time there is one ingredient I didn't mention before, and only Savil knows what that ingredient is, as she has bags of it. However, those pesky Pachirisu struck again and stole her last bag. So you will EACH be recovering those."

"So just do the same things we did on days two and three? Right," Aria blurted.

"Not quite," Bertram said. "This time we will be infiltrating a special keep run by, you guessed it, Dagger Eyes. This keep is filled with many deadly traps that you must traverse through to get ingredients."

"You don't actually mean "deadly" do you?" Percy asked.

"Alright, nothing that will actually kill you, but it will be challenging," Bertram stated. "There will be four rooms, each with Red Herbs, a Big Root, a Reviver Seed, and Savil's special bag of tricks guarded by those pesky Pachirisu."

"Is there a catch?" Lilly asked.

"The catch! Of course there is," Bertram said. "The doors to other areas require a certain amount of Pokemon to open, and they also scan these Pokemon for the ones who have the ingredients. The ones holding ingredients may not pass, and will have to come back after deactivating their trap system."

"Where does Bertram come up with all of this?" Aria blurted out.

"Unfortunately, you will ALL be divided into teams of two," Bertram said.

"I call Lilly!" Muffy cried.

"I'm sticking with Dustin," Drenig stated.

"Upupup, no choosing," Bertram said. "You will all be randomly assigned a partner from your old rival team. Which means Muffy will NOT be assigned with Lilly, and Dustin will NOT be assigned with Drenig."

"Wait, what!?" Muffy cried.

"You mean we get paired up with someone who was on the opposite team as us?" Dustin asked.

"...Did I stutter?" Bertram asked. "Anyway, the teams who get ingredients will be safe for today. As for the two who DON'T get ingredients? Well we will get to that later. First, I will be waiting outside for you. When you're ready, come outside and we will get the teams situated. Until then, toddles."

"Well, I guess this will be a chance for us to meet each other," Percy stated. "To whoever gets Grant or Jet, good luck putting up with them."

Jet immediately walked up to Percy and then jumped up in the air. He came down with his fist to knock him on the head.

"Hey!" Percy shouted at Jet.

"You can hurt me for making snide comments, so why can't I do the same?" Jet asked.

"He's got a point you know," Aria mentioned.

"Hmmmm... I suppose I was being a bit hypocritical there," Percy said to himself.

Eventually, everyone was done inside and met Bertram outside. Outside, there was a bunch of pegs in boxes, all of which were the same color with a red stripe on them, but one of the boxes was blue and the other was yellow.

"So, we ready to start the trek into the keep of ingredients?" Bertram asked.

"Ready, willing, and able to do so," Lilly said.

"As you can see, there are two boxes with five pegs each," Bertram pointed out. "I want the old teams to stand at their colored box, choose a peg, and hold onto it until I tell you all to pull the pegs out. Are we clear?"

"Hmmm, surprises ey?" Grant asked. "That sounds fun." Grant immediately ran up to a random peg in the blue box. Everyone else did so as well.

"Green, purple, orange, brown and white," Bertram blurted out. "Two of you will get one of these colors. Your team mate will be the one with the matching color. So eager little pig, pull out your peg."

"I got purple," Grant said.

"Very good, now how about Wren? Would you like to?" Bertram asked.

"Sure," Wren said simply before pulling his peg out. "Brown!"

"Now let's keep going," Bertram said. "Muffy, you go next."

"Muffy got brown too," Muffy said.

"Ah! Lucky pick," Bertram said with a smile. "Go over to your team mate for this challenge."

Muffy and Wren went over to each other. Muffy immediately held a paw out. Wren decided to shake her paw.

"Hi there Muffy," Wren said. "I hope we work well as a team."

Muffy didn't say anything. She did, however, give off an encouraging smile.

"Next!" Bertram shouted. "Aria, why don't you go?"

"I got a green peg," Aria said.

"Percy? Would you like to go next?" Bertram asked.

"Sure," Percy said before pulling his peg out. "My peg is orange."

"Very well. Kiki?" Bertram asked.

"Please don't be purple, please don't be purple," Kiki muttered under her breath before pulling out a peg. ...What do you know, it was purple.

"What's wrong?" Bertram said. "You're not telling me what the color is."

"It's... purple..." Kiki moaned.

"Great, we have our second team then," Bertram said. "Please join with Grant."

Grant and Kiki went over to each other. Grant seemed indifferent about Kiki.

"Let's just get this over with," Kiki said.

"Aww, what's the matter?" Grant asked. "You don't want to work with me?"

"Why would I want to work with you?" Kiki asked. "YOU are not supposed to be here! YOU were supposed to be sent home yesterday! YOU were caught CHEATING and cost our team an honorable victory!"

"I'm sorry, that was only a mistake," Grant said. "I didn't cheat on purpose."

"Why don't I believe you?" Kiki asked.

"Hello? Moving on?" Bertram asked. "Jet! Peg time!"

"Oh boy, let's see who will have the opportunity to work with the Jet frog?" Jet asked as he pulled a peg out. "Ha! It's white."

"Wait, what?" Aria asked before looking at the team. She just realized something: The only one who has not pulled a peg yet was Lilly, and the only color not pulled yet is green, which was the color Aria picked. "Noooooooo!"

"Something wrong, Aria?" Bertram asked.

Eventually, Lilly picked her peg out. Sure enough it was green.

"Bleck. I have to team up with Aria," Lilly stated.

"Noooo..." Aria whined as she walked over to Lilly. Neither of the two were happy.

"Of course it was not your turn to pull a peg yet, but whatever," Bertram continued.

"I knew it, she still wants to antagonize Lilly," Kiki told Grant.

"Ooh, sounds evil," Grant said.

"How did I know you would say that?" Kiki asked. "And I barely even know you."

"Hey Bertram, can we switch?" Grant asked.

"Yeah, you can take Aria if you want," Lilly said.

"Beggars can't be choosers Grant," Bertram said. "Now only an orange peg and a white peg are left."

"What do you say, on the count of three?" Drenig asked Dustin.

"Agreed," Dustin said to Drenig. Eventually, they both pulled their pegs out. Drenig got white, and Dustin got orange.

"So that's settled, Percy and Dustin are a team, and Jet and Drenig are a team," Bertram said.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Hmmm, Jet and Drenig together," Percy said. "This is going to be very interesting to watch."

-After Confessional-

Drenig walked over to Jet, his partner for this challenge, and held his claw out. He wanted to seem friendly, not knowing much of who he was.

"Ay man, good to work with ya," Drenig said. Jet was eyeballing him unpleasantly.

"YOU!" Jet shouted. "You're the one that stood me up in the second challenge!"

"Uhhh, pardon man?" Drenig asked.

"Oh you already forgot, did you?" Jet asked. "I was the best thrower on team Artic-Uno."

"...My tail," Percy blurted out as Dustin walked over to him.

"And then YOU and your stupid little golden throwing claw made me look like a joke!" Jet cried.

"Were you taking parabola into account?" Drenig questioned.

"Para-what now?" Jet asked.

"You know, parabola," Drenig mentioned. "It's the law of nothing flying forever, and that everything goes in an arc. I find it's wise to aim higher than your target."

"What!? That's stupid!" Jet said.

"No, it actually makes sense," Percy said. "If everything flies in an arc, it will fall into your target if you aim high."

"What nonsense, you aim AT the target!" Jet cried.

Dustin felt kind of ignored. He was Percy's team mate, and he wanted Percy to know.

"Thou does not seem to notice thee," Dustin said to him.

"Oh, hi there and you are?" Percy asked, finally paying attention to Dustin.

"Thy name is Dustin. ...Sir Dustin," he replied. Percy was unsure of what to make of him.

"Huh... hello? ...Sir Dustin?" Percy was REALLY unsure what to make of him.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Well? Was I right about the Jet slash Drenig encounter?" Percy asked. "Now... about that Dustin character, he... dresses up like a knight and... talks in a medieval way? No offense, but... he's kind of creepy. ...But then again, I've been around that Grant kid, and hopefully he cannot be THAT bad."

-After Confessional-

"Okay, do we have all our teams ready?" Bertram asked. "Good, it looks like we have Wren and Muffy, Kiki and Grant, Aria and Lilly, Dustin and Percy, and Drenig and Jet. Everybody ready?"

"Can we PLEASE do over?" Aria asked.

"Yeah, I'll trade with anyone," Jet said.

"What part of beggars can NOT be choosers do you not get?" Bertram asked. "You get the team mate you get, no cry-babies!"

"Drenig is just going to hold me back!" Jet cried. "Why should I be stuck with a dead weight?"

"Dead weight?" Drenig asked. "I ended up hitting a target before you, and you've held a grudge for that?"

"Apparently Jet isn't used to losing," Percy said.

"And that wasn't the end," Jet said. "I trained the hardest I could to get good at mechs, and once again you make me look stupid by beating me at real-life Rock Em' Sock Em' Golurks!"

"I want to say I'm sorry, but I'm not," Drenig said, feeling a bit peeved.

"Do you know how many times we tried kicking him off?" Percy asked Drenig.

"Thy wouldn't be surprised," Dustin said.

"...That's gonna take some getting used to," Percy said.

"Wait, do you have a problem?" Drenig asked.

"No... no I'm fine," Percy lied.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"No one in this competition seems open to Dustin being a L.A.R. P. er," Drenig said. "It's not like it hurts anyone that he talks like a knight. I think people just don't accept what isn't normal, man. But then again, is saying "man" and saying "I" with an accent normal? Ay, no one complains about that man."

-After Confessional-

"Muffy has no problems with her partner," Muffy said.

"Awww, thanks Muffy," Wren said. "I kind of like you too."

"You mind if Muffy talks in third person?" Muffy asked.

"No, I think it's kind of charming," Wren said.

"Yaaaaay!" Muffy shouted.

"...Yeah, I'd avoid shouting like that," Wren said.

"Oh, sorry," Muffy said. "Muffy has problems with her voice."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"EEEEEK! Wren is such a nice kid," Muffy said. "I... I wonder if me and him are compatible. Oh no, I didn't come here for love either. I came here at first to raise money for a life time supply of spiked cuffs and tough outfits, but now I want to start my own anti-bullying campaign. I guess Yoshi really did stay in my mind."

-After Confessional-

"Okay, now that we are FINALLY done talking, let's go find the base," Bertram said. "Follow me, I know where it is."

The contestants followed Bertram all the way to the keep where they were keeping the ingredients. But little did they know, someone was waiting for them there.

**-Red Alert-**

"Well, there it is," Bertram said, eventually bringing the group to what appeared to be a nicely sized warehouse.

"...Okay," Lilly said.

"Inside are each of the four ingredients," Bertram stated.

"Ya don't say!" Aria mentioned.

"Unfortunately none of the doors to other ingredients..." Bertram tried to say something but was cut off.

"Just tell us what to watch out for," Jet blurted.

"...Dragon guards," Bertram stated.

"Wait... Dragons?" Percy asked.

"Yes, part of Gola's army," Bertram said.

"Isn't he that angry Dragonite?" Wren asked.

"You will ALSO have to deal with traps," Bertram stated, completely ignoring Wren. "The first room is the easiest to infiltrate and has five halls of equal length leading to it, each hall has a few guards in them. And the end of the first hall will be some pendulums you must avoid in order to get to the Red Herb. The losing teams must stand on buttons that open up the next room, which has only four halls but more guards. The Reviver Seed is guarded by steep conveyor belts. Losing teams step on the buttons, next room, three corridors, even more guards, and some spinning drums which will slow you down and what have you. Final room has two corridors but the most guards, and the final obstacle are robots. ...Robots controlled by Gola himself. In each hall are toy guns. You must use the guns to shoot down guards. If you are shot, your gun becomes defunct. You may not clear a hall without a working gun. And after that, we will have two losers. THEIR fate will come later."

"Wait, we won't BOTH get eliminated if we lose, will we?" Muffy asked.

"You may or may not," Bertram said. "You just have to wait and see. However, it just might be a double elimination, so play the game wisely."

"Ugh, that is terrible," Aria said. "You just like torturing us, don't you?"

"What part of wait and see do you not get?" Bertram asked. "Anyway, those ingredients will NOT gather themselves, so chop-chop!"

"ONWARD TO VICTORYYYYYYY!" Dustin called out.

"...Yes... Let's go," Percy replied as they both ran inside the place.

"Let's just get this over with," Aria said.

"Might as well, after all, team work is not decided by who works the worst with each other I guess," Lilly said as they both went in.

"Well? Is my sidekick coming?" Grant asked.

"Sure it is," Kiki said before swiftly bringing her foot claw around and kicking Grant at the hip.

"OW! Not THAT kind of sidekick!" Grant yelled before walking into the bunker.

"Plenty more where that came from if you call me "Sidekick" again," Kiki stated as she followed Grant.

"Ay man, you don't like me and I don't like you, but we gotta get through this if we want a chance," Drenig said.

"Oh fine!" Jet shouted as they ran inside.

Wren decided to go up to the bunker door and stand next to it. He then then held his hands out and smiled.

"Ladies first," Wren said with a smile.

"Awww, how sweet," Muffy replied.

Eventually everyone got inside the building. But it didn't take long for them to get noticed.

"LEAVE AT ONCE!" Yelled a booming voice from above their heads. The first thing they saw when they looked up was a balcony with a doorway on it. Coming out of that doorway was one of Dagger Eye's zombie generals, Gola. "Course, that is unless you want to die in here! In that case, please go forward!"

"Ooh, we're so scared," Aria and Lilly said in unison.

"Hey! That's my line!" Aria yelled.

"You didn't coin it, it's not your line," Lilly said.

"Do you even understand what's at stake?" Gola asked. "You aren't fighting some sissy ghosts or fat tapirs, these are DRAGONS! You are dealing with dragons! Give up, go home, or let me enjoy watching you be dissasembled!"

"Never, tyrant!" Muffy yelled.

While other contestants were concentrating on Gola, Grant found an easy way out.

"Oh please, he's stalling us," Grant said to Kiki. "Very funny, but we have herbs to get. Follow me, Kiki."

Grant was escaping from the pack as the others were focused on Gola. Kiki actually found this to be insulting.

"I'm not doing that," Kiki said. "I'm not stooping to your level. I'm staying here and letting the others a chance."

"Awww, little pansy doesn't want to win?" Grant asked.

"In addition, I'm not allowing YOU to be responsible for our dishonorable victory," Kiki said before rushing over to Grant and grabbing him. ...Unfortunately, she was giving team Jenig an idea.

"Grant actually has the right idea," Drenig said to Jet. "Wanna blow this Popsicle stand?"

"Heh, I'll take the lead thank you very much," Jet said, hopping in front of Drenig.

Meanwhile, the others were still watching Gola. The big dragon was blowing off steam.

"I'm just saying my dragon guards will crush you!" Gola said.

"I'd like to see them try!" Kiki shouted.

"Fine! They will do more than just try," Gola said. "They will destroy the very place you stand!"

"Can we just test that already, or are you going to chew our beaks off all day?" Aria asked.

"Well I didn't want to bring this up just yet," Gola stated. "But it looks like one of the groups already started their little adventure."

"Oh no we didn't," Kiki said. "I'm even holding onto Grant right..."

Kiki took a look around and noticed Jet and Drenig were gone. This did not sit right with Kiki at all.

"Oh those twerps!" Kiki yelled. "How could they just cheat like this!?"

"Well technically there was no rule stating you HAD to let me finish before you started the course," Gola mentioned. "So technically they're not cheating."

"But they're still playing dishonorably!" Kiki yelled.

"Then I guess you're the only who's NOT playing dishonorably," Gola said, pointing out the fact that everyone but her and Grant had left through the maze.

"Come on, Sidekick! They're ahead of us!" Grant yelled.

"Grrrr! I'll deal with you later," Kiki shouted before she started the course.

Down in the course, Drenig and Jet were the first to enter their hall. Jet was eager to kick butt.

"Ha! Once they get a load of the signature Jet Typhoon Kick, they'll be super dazzled!" Jet said.

"Ay man! No abilities!" Drenig shouted.

"No, it's not an ability, it's just a special kick," Jet said.

"Besides, you're forgetting they're actors," Drenig said. "And considering that they left these toy guns here, we can be sure we're suppose to use these."

"Guns? Do I look like a gun user?" Jet asked.

"No one knows how to use one of these," Drenig stated. Guns were ficticious the their land outside of natural weaponry, but laser tag guns were still used. "But maybe you have played laser tag."

"I'm a master at over fifty-seven sports," Jet said. "Laser tag is... not one of them."

"Ay man, grab a gun and get blasting!" Drenig said before stomping down the hall.

"Right," Jet said before grabbing one of the toy guns. Before going down, he started making action poses with the gun in his hand. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but he had a game to win.

Meanwhile, Percy and Dustin were at their hall, selecting guns. Dustin was going into his spiel again.

"Okay, so I guess we have to take these laser guns," Percy said.

"What thy be this strange object?" Dustin asked. "Thy never seen anything quite like it."

"Please drop the L.A.R. P. ing act for now," Percy said sternly.

"Oh alright," Dustin said before grabbing a laser gun. "It's just more fun when I pretend it doesn't exist, cause it's not from the period I roleplay in."

"Now is not the time to L.A.R. P," Percy said. "Now is the time to get serious."

"Right, we should probably go down the hall and shoot anything that moves," Dustin said.

"Like that!" Percy shouted as he saw something from above try to attack. It seemed to be a Drudgeon. Percy immediately fired at it, and then it fell to the ground. It flapped once before landing to stop itself from getting hurt, which ruined the illusion.

"...Not sure what to say about that," Dustin said.

Over with Lilly and Aria, they were holding onto their guns and waiting for stuff to pop out. Aria was keeping her distance from Lilly, but Lilly at least wanted to be friendly.

"So... I suppose we just have to work together for now," Lilly said. "Maybe we should set our differences aside and focus on the game."

"After what you did before, you think I will just forgive you?" Aria aked. "Let's just hurry up and get this over with, because the longer I have to stay with you the more likely I'm going to have a meltdown."

"Are you really that embarrassed that I pointed out flaws in your logic?" Lilly said.

"Flaws in my logic!?" Aria cried. "You mean your stupid vegetarian ranting filled with hypocrisy?"

"You are. You just don't want to admit it," Lilly said.

"No, I am just sick and tired of you people trying to justify a flawed diet," Aria said. "You need protein to survive, and nothing has more protein..."

"Than dead animals, blah blah blah," Lilly responded. "Why do you even care what I eat? It's not like it affects your life."

"When you go around shoving your diets on others, yes it does!" Aria shouted.

"I have done NO such thing," Lilly yelled.

While the two were fighting, a couple of Axews popped up from behind boxes and shot right at them. Both of their guns flashed and all the lights on the guns shut off.

"The enemy," Aria yelled, trying to shoot her laser. The Axews just shook their head.

"You have to go back and get different guns," the Axew said.

"Gee, thanks for your help, Aria," Lilly said before trudging back to the guns. Aria followed her back, still peeved by her.

With Wren and Muffy, they were working quite well together. They seemed happy as could be on a team with each other. And they were doing well.

"Wren, watch out!" Muffy shouted when she saw an Axew with a gun. She shot off at the Axew and managed to shut off its weaponry.

"Nice shot, Muffy," Wren said before he saw another. "There's another one!" Wren pulled off the same stunt Muffy did, knocking out another Axew guard.

"Muffy like big-footed Kangaskhan mouse," Muffy said.

"I always wondered where the term "Kangaskhan mouse" comes from," Wren said. "Kangaskhan feet aren't very long at all."

"I wonder if there's a similar story behind Grant's coconuts," Muffy stated.

"Wait, what?" Wren asked. While talking, Muffy shot another guard.

"You don't remember the pile of coconuts at the Jhotan temple on your visit?" Muffy asked.

"Coconuts? What are those?" Wren asked.

"No one knows," Muffy stated.

Finally, Grant and Kiki were going through. Grant was really blasting the thugs, and was feeling prideful of it.

"Mwahaha! No one can stop me!" Grant cried.

"I wouldn't get too cocky, slime ball," Kiki said, after shooting another thug. "We were the last ones in the maze."

"No thanks to you, sidekick," Grant stated.

"Okay, you're up to two "sidekicks" after this is over," Kiki mentioned. "Now move! We have to get their first."

While the other teams were taking their time, Kiki was rushing through the course. Kiki was in it to win it. And surprisingly, she was the first at the obstacles.

"Slow down sidekick," Grant said. "Just cause I'm evil doesn't mean I'm as fast as you."

"Three after this is over," Kiki mentioned. "And I'm going to win this with or without you."

Yeah, team mates weren't needed for the pendulums. And while Kiki was tackling the course, Wren and Muffy arrived, as did Jet and Drenig. Jet was the first to notice Kiki.

"Oh no you don't!" Jet cried. as he ran after Kiki. Although Jet had more athleticism than Kiki, he wasn't as smart. Jet rushed blindly into the pendulums, and was effortlessly knocked over, but Kiki was making sure she didn't run into anything. Meanwhile, Wren was having trouble with the pendulums too, considering he was ill fit for running and stopping. Muffy tried the course as well, but even she wasn't that fast. Suddenly, Percy and Dustin joined the ranks as well.

"I should go first," Dustin said. "I'm lighter and more agile."

"Okay, but I'm sure it's worth bothering," Percy said before pointing at Kiki who was almost at the end.

With a few more maneuvers, Kiki reached the end where there were Red Herbs and a switch. Kiki claimed the herbs and then flipped the switch, claiming her and Grant the first spot in the safety zone. After the switch was flipped, the pendulums stopped.

"Woah, that's funny," Kiki said. "I thought cheating was supposed to help people win, and yet the one who ended up winning was the team that went last."

"...You know we didn't cheat," Drenig said. "We just chose to tackle the course while Gola was talking."

"He even said it wasn't against the rules," Grant responded. "But regardless, well done sidekick."

"You just haven't learned your lesson, have you?" Kiki asked. "I know I shouldn't have kicked you the first time, but trust me the next action I take won't be good next time you feel the need to call me sidekick. Are we clear?"

"Evil fears nothing!" Grant cried.

"Grant, I've seen you in a scared state before so clam up," Kiki said, staring him down.

"Hey, where's Aria and Lilly?" Wren asked.

They were just coming out of their hall. They hadn't even finished. The guards just let them go by cause it was over for the first round.

"Were they just not meant to work together?" Muffy asked.

"Who cares, we're winning!" Grant cheered. "Onward, subject!"

"...Don't call me subject either and we've already won," Kiki said. "We have to head back now."

"What? Won already? Mwahahaha!" Grant was something else, wasn't he?

"Okay, the rest of us have to stand on those pressure plates," Percy said.

"Right, of course I could have told you that," Aria said before dragging herself over to the pressure plates.

"I almost want to lose just to get rid of her," Lilly said.

"What's wrong with Lilly?" Muffy asked.

"Ugh, she just won't listen," Lilly said. "She cannot settle our differences for even one challenge."

"Maybe it's because you treat her like scum," Wren mentioned. "She doesn't appreciate how you talk about meat eaters."

"...Really? Is she telling you that?" Lilly asked. "She brings it on herself. And I don't treat meat eaters like scum, she's just acting what you call butthurt."

Lilly walked off to the pressure plates where the teams were gathering. But Wren and Muffy stayed in their place.

"Aria seems to think things differently," Wren said.

"Lilly's a nice person though," Muffy said. "She never meant any ill toward Muffy, even when I told her I didn't like going berry picking with her."

"Come on guys!" Jet called out.

"Coming big-head," Muffy said disdainfully as she went to her pressure plate. Wren followed in suit.

Now it was time for round two. Four teams were still fighting for immunity.

"Well, round two Percy," Dustin stated. "You ready for round two?"

"I suppose if you're ready for round two," Percy stated.

"You a good shot?" Dustin asked. "I didn't get to see much skill last time."

"It looks like things will be even worse here," Percy said. "...I... really can't think of anything special to say, let's just go at it."

As Percy and Dustin tackled the course, so did Jet and Drenig. They were... not having an easy time, as Drenig tried shooting a guard, but got shot instead.

"Hey! I thought you were a good shot!" Jet mocked.

"I have a good throwing arm," Drenig said. "I have never used a gun before."

"I thought you were a mechanical genius," Jet said before his gun got blasted and they had to get new ones.

"I am not a genius, I don't know how to operate every piece of machinery on the planet," Drenig mentioned.

"Ugh, I knew you weren't as god like as your past efforts made you look," Jet said.

"How am I in any way god-like?" Drenig asked. "You're not trying to start something, are you?"

"No, I'm just saying you're worthless in this challenge," Jet said.

"Let's just keep trying," Drenig said. "The guards don't respawn so if we take out some, we'll have an easier time next go around."

Over with Aria and Lilly, Lilly was still trying to make peace. She wasn't getting very far, but she was making progress.

"Look, you don't have to like me," Lilly said. "But if you want to be safe in this challenge, we have to work together."

"Oh fine," Aria said. "But after this, we're back to being enemies."

"Whatever, but for now we're team mates," Lilly said as she blasted a guard. After they blasted a few they both had to go back for new guns.

"I've never used one of these before," Aria said. "Have you?"

"No, I have not," Lilly stated.

Muffy and Wren were faring about as well as the others were: Not too great. Still, they were getting by.

"Muffy takes one side, Wren takes the other," Muffy said.

"Sounds like a plan," Wren stated after shooting one of the guards. After a few guards were shot, Muffy got hit.

"Aww, I have to get another gun," Muffy said.

Wren had found a good spot to hide: Right behind a box. The guards were using these boxes as well. Wren immediately lifted his gun above the box and shot out, hitting another target while being hard to hit.

"You got your gun?" Wren called out.

"Muffy's got it!" Muffy said before returning to Wren.

"Good, let's kick but," Wren said.

"Hee hee, I'd actually kind of like to see you kick something's butt," Muffy said.

Over by Percy and Dustin, they were having trouble with their end as well. Dustin had just gotten shot, and Percy did as well.

"This is going to be hard," Dustin said. "You're too big and easy to hit, and my shooting arm is useless."

"Well, what's your plan?" Percy asked.

"I don't want to be the one behind," Dustin stated. "We just have to keep at it. I bet Drenig's far along by now."

But they weren't the first team to get through. Muffy and Wren had made it through the gauntlet, and were now on the conveyor belts.

"This will be a cakewalk for me," Wren said confidently as he bolted up the conveyor belt. He hopped with all his might trying to get to the switch until he eventually did get to the switch. Wren pushed the switch and grabbed the Reviver Seed at the top.

"Yaaaay Wren, you did it!" Muffy cheered.

"I wouldn't exactly have called that a cakewalk, but that was easy enough," Wren said.

**-Robot Royall-**

"Attention corpses!" Eventually, everyone could hear a voice. "It appears that four of you have already escaped!"

"Huh? When did this happen?" Aria asked as her team was still in the hall.

"This is NOT something I will accept," Gola yelled through speakers in the building. "The rest of you will be destroyed later on! After all, what kind of zombie general would I be if I didn't have a whole LOT of dragons to fight for me?"

"Why don't you fight us yourself?" Dustin called out.

"SILENCE!" Gola yelled. "So big-foot and his snarl toothed companion have retrieved the reviver seeds, but I STILL have the Big Root AND Savil's special mixture."

"Ha! That next ingredient is ours!" Jet called out loud enough everyone could hear them. "The other two teams are worthless!"

"I wouldn't speak too soon," Drenig said

"Worthless did he say?" Lilly asked Aria.

"...That was rhetorical, right?" Aria asked. Lilly just stared into space as she said that. Eventually, Wren and Muffy decided to walk down Aria and Lilly's hall.

"Good luck Lilly and Aria," Wren and Muffy said in unison as they were going back.

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"Bring it on! He's going down!" Lilly exclaimed. "Even if I'm paired up with that hypocite Aria, I'm still going to obliterate that yammering frog."

-After Confessional-

"Ha ha ha! Welcome to round THREE!" Gola shouted as the three remaining teams entered the third hall.

"Oh boy," Drenig said sarcastically.

"Well, which of you three teams will make it out of the next round? Probably NONE OF YOU!" Gola yelled.

As each team went down the hall, the guards immediately swarmed in. That's when Dustin had an idea.

"Why don't we take turns going down and shooting guards?" Dustin asked. "That way we can keep a steady fire on them."

"Sounds... like a legit plan," Percy agreed. "Who goes first?"

"I'll go first, you have more experience," Dustin stated.

"Right," Percy said as he watched Dustin run down the hall with his gun.

"Time to taste lasers, black-knights!" Dustin cried. As he ran down, he took out an impressive number of guards. He took out an astounding... zero guards before he was shot in the gun.

"...Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Percy said as he ran forward with his attempt. He managed to take out more, but only two.

"Don't worry, I'm sure if we just keep at it," Dustin said.

Over with Lilly and Aria, Aria kept getting shot. Lilly was trying to encourage her to do better.

"Don't give up Aria, we can still do it," Lilly said. "Pretend Jet's your worst enemy. Because that is easy for me to do."

"Hmph! My worst enemy right now is you," Aria said.

"Then pretend you're trying to outdo me then," Lilly said.

"Whatever you say," Aria said before grabbing a gun and shooting it at Lilly. Lilly's gun went defunct right away, and it made Lilly mad.

"What the heck!" Lilly yelled.

"Sorry, just following your advice," Aria said.

"Play like you want to stay in the game in the game then!" Lilly yelled.

"Oh fine," Aria said as she went forward to fight more of the guards. She managed to get about three of them before having her gun shot off.

"Good girl," Lilly mocked as Aria went to get another gun.

But things weren't any better on Drenig and Jet's side. Jet had a wild idea.

"Oh please, why don't I just blast through?" Jet said.

"Bad idea man," Drenig said.

"Oh? Let's see how bad that idea is!" Jet then rushed past some boxes and tried to run through the guards. He managed to jump over the guards and got to the end of the hallway. ...But when he tried to pass he was immediately shocked. He then tumbled backwards after the shock.

"You know, there's a force-field there that shocks you if you don't have a working gun," one of the guards said.

"Told ya it was a bad idea!" Drenig shouted.

After a while, the teams had failed to progress very far. Gola decided to taunt them.

"Oh come on, guys!" Gola yelled. "If you're going to lose, at LEAST put up a fight!"

"Ugh, that Gola creep, who does he think he is?" Lilly asked.

"You know he's an actor, right?" Aria asked.

"True," Lilly said. "But there's no reason he needs to mock so frequently."

"Well, he's the bad guy," Aria asked.

"True, but doesn't he still anger you?" Lilly asked.

"Not really, no," Aria stated.

"...Aria, I'm trying to motivate you," Lilly said.

"Uhhhh, Aria smash!" she said as she grabbed a gun and tried to shoot more guards.

...But over with Percy and Dustin, their strategy started to work. The more they did it, the more guards they took down with each go around.

"Thy shall slay the dragon!" Dustin called out as he shot the last few guards in their way.

"Okay, maybe that plan DID work," Percy said as they were running to the obstacles. "I hope we're not too late."

"Looks like we made it here first," Dustin said.

"But how do we get past the spinning devices?" Percy asked.

"Carefully I guess," Dustin said. "Allow me."

As Dustin tried the obstacles, something caught Percy's attention. His view shifted to one of the other hallways where he saw a squirming Jet.

"Owww, lightning hurts," Jet said as he was sprawling.

"Ay! And you think I'm useless!" Drenig called out.

Percy couldn't help but giggle at Jet's misfortune. But his giggling faded as another team got closer.

"Ugh, they're way ahead of us Lilly!" Aria shouted.

"Yeah, but yelling at me won't change that," Lilly said as she tried to go through the course as fast as she could.

Lilly was racing against Dustin, who was nearing the switch. As much as Lilly tried, she could not catch up to the Watchog. Both managed to dodge the spinning wheels that tried to knock them about, but Dustin was farther along than Lilly was. In the end, Dustin claimed the Big Root and secured him and Percy an immunity.

"Awww, I was sure I had you this time!" Gola shouted through the speakers of the building.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Whew, glad I'm finally done with the science-fiction stage," Dustin said. "I hope I don't have to do something like this again. ...What? I think science fiction is boring. Too polished and clean. Medeival scenes are rustic and adventurous! That's why I like L.A.R. P. ing as a knight so much."

-After Confessional-

Jet eventually managed to recover after being shocked. But now he was facing harsh reality.

"No, I can't be doing this badly," Jet said.

"Something tells me you're a huge joke," Drenig said. "I expected you to at LEAST be competent!"

"I'm incompetent!?" Jet yelled. "YOU are the dragging me back!"

"Right man! I'm the one who blindly charged into a force-field!" Drenig shouted.

"Ugh, see what I had to put up with the whole time I was in Artic-Uno?" Lilly asked.

"Pfft! He's empty gas compared to you," Aria said.

"Why won't you just put aside our differences?" Lilly asked.

"Because you are a typical vegetarian!" Aria shouted. "You are as much of a dictator as any other vegetarian out there."

"Ugh! Where did you come to this conclusion!?" Lilly asked.

"If you weren't trying to convert me, you'd never have said those nasty comments," Aria said.

"That you're too prideful to admit maybe I had a point, but I wasn't trying to convert you!" Lilly countered.

"Come on! Conflict isn't everything!" Gola yelled. "Get to the challenge and die already!"

"He's right," Lilly said. "We have to beat Jet. ...I will kind of feel sorry for Drenig though?"

"Why feel sorry for him?" Aria asked. "Oh right, he's the one you half-converted!"

"I did NOT!" Lilly erupted.

"Yes you did!" Aria said. "You completely told him he should feel sorry for the animals he eats!"

"So what!?" Lilly asked. "I didn't tell him what to eat, only that it was natural for him to feel sorry for his kill!"

Drenig was hearing the entire conversation. He honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Is... Is Aria losing it?" Drenig asked. "Lilly is telling her the honest truth. She didn't convert me, I chose to be a pescitarian myself."

"Hey I got another idea," Jet stated.

"This better be good," Drenig said.

"Let's make use of their arguing and get a head start," Jet said. "Cause I don't care how slow you are, I am not going home because of you."

"Right, let's go," Drenig said as they both grabbed a gun and prepared for battle.

Over with Lilly and Aria, Lilly was trying desperately to end their argument. She was getting really frustrated with Aria.

"Ugh! Whatever! Let's just get moving before they get ahead!" Lilly said before immediately grabbing a gun and going into battle. Aria rolled her eyes and went on with it as well as Lilly did. And that was when the race began.

Jet and Drenig were trying their hardest to take out as many guards per gun. But Lilly and Aria were racing, trying to beat the others. But both teams were suffering from many of their guns being shot off.

"There's too many of them!" Aria shouted.

"Now's not the time to complain!" Lilly shouted. "Now's the time to keep at it!"

"Come on, I'm doing all the work!" Jet said.

"Why don't I just stop playing and let them win you ungrateful frog!" Drenig shouted.

Complete pandemonium ensued the teams. They were making progress on the guards, but not much.

"AHAHAHAHA! That's right minions! DESTROY THEM!" Gola shouted.

This made the two remaining teams hustle even more. Little by little they whittled the guards down, but it was a close race.

"Come on, we're almost there," Lilly said. "Just hang with me!"

"I think I'm going to beat them," Jet said to Drenig.

"...You mean we, right?" Drenig asked.

Eventually, both halls had their last guards shot. The teams were neck and neck as they went into the final battle against Gola. And Gola had a balcony set outside the final obstacle where Gola showed himself.

"You BOTH made it?" Gola asked. "I didn't want to do this but... actually, no. I was hoping you'd come this far so I COULD do this! Behold my army of robot-Haxoruses!"

"Robot..." Jet started.

"...Haxoruses?" Drenig finished.

"You're kidding me," Aria said.

In front of them were six robot Haxorus ready to stop them from getting the herbs. They seemed a bit clunky, but they had their numbers, so this would NOT be an easy game to win.

"So, Gola? How do we win this one?" Lilly asked.

"You think I'm THAT kind of villain who reveals their secrets?" Gola asked. "Please and no thank you! Why don't you suffer instead?"

"Because there's ALWAYS a way to beat the villain, especially on a reality show," Lilly stated.

"Well you can't ALL defeat me," Gola said. "However, if one of you manages to make it to the hallways with the herbs in hand, you and your team mate will be safe. But remember, you are perfectly capable of stealing the herbs from a competitor."

"Okay Aria, I am begging you," Lilly said. "This is an event that calls for team work, and if we want to win, we have to work as a team."

"Fine. For now at least," Aria said. "I'll see if I cannot distract the enemies."

Aria tried to go to the wall to distract some of the Haxorus, but only one went after her. The other two were after Lilly. But Lilly managed to sneak right under their arms as they tried to grab her. Unfortunately, the one Haxorus who focused on Aria grabbed her and was trying to flick it's tail at Lilly. Lilly was having a hard time dodging.

Meanwhile, Drenig was having a different approach. He was explaining it to Jet.

"Why don't I just try to tank through them?" Drenig asked. "That way I'll seem more like a threat, and..."

But Jet was already trying to go in. Drenig had to think fast if he wanted to win.

"Darnit Jet," Drenig said before he charged in. Jet was in front of Drenig and was about to run into a bunch of robots. "Jet, get behind me and wait for them to shift their focus!" Drenig called out.

"I can take them!" Jet yelled.

"You want to to go home or not?" Drenig asked.

Jet didn't listen. Jet kept charging forward, thinking he could just jump through their attacks and he was caught and thrown away back to the hallways.

"Now we go with MY plan!" Drenig shouted.

"I thought for sure I could dodge them," Jet said.

"Apparently you're no god either, man!" Drenig shouted.

Meanwhile, Lilly had made it past the Haxorus and had grabbed the herbs. She felt kind of proud of herself.

"We did it, Aria!" Lilly called out.

"You have to bring it to the halls first!" Gola taunted.

"Oh no..." Lilly said as she saw the Haxorus coming in after her.

Lilly used her spindly frame to her advantage, gracefully dodging the mechs like a ballerina. Aria kept the third Haxorus on their side occupied, making it easy for her to sneak by that one as well. But Lilly had one last obstacle to deal with: Jet.

"Excuse me, but I'll take those!" Jet said, completely trying to blind-sight Lilly. Jet hopped right in front of Lilly and stopped her in her tracks. With one swipe, Jet grabbed the herbs. ...But Lilly wasn't just going to let go.

"Aria, help!" Lilly shouted.

Aria's attention immediately shifted to her partner, but she was occupied as well. Still, Aria at least tried to help. But Jet got crafty. While still holding onto the herbs, Jet quickly swept his leg into Lilly's. Not expecting this attack, Lilly let go of the herbs and fell backwards, letting Jet have the herbs.

"Why thank you former team-mate," Jet said almost evilly before hopping to the hallways. "AND FORMER CONTESTANT!"

With three long hops, Jet made it all the way to the hallways, where he secured victory for him and Drenig.

"No..." Lilly said to herself as she saw Jet hop off.

"Eh what?" Drenig said as he looked back. He then noticed that the Haxorus stopped focusing on him, and went towards Lilly and Aria.

"Okay you stupid croc, you may go!" Gola shouted. "But I WILL GET MY WAY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER WITH ONE OF THOSE TWO!" Gola yelled.

Eventually, the mechs went to restrain Lilly and Aria. It looked like they were done for.

"Argh! Let go of us you overgrown rust-buckets!" Aria yelled.

"What's going to happen to us?" Lilly asked.

"Oh you will find out soon enough!" Gola said. "ROBOTS! Take them away!"

**-Moral Combat-**

Eventually, both Lilly and Aria wound up in separate rooms. Both were quite dark and had lots and lots of cards in slots. There was also a table with instructions.

"Well... here we are at last," Gola said through speakers planted in both rooms.

"Where are we?" Lilly asked.

"What's the meaning of this?" Aria asked.

"I will give the two of you one last chance to escape my chamber," Gola said. "All you must do is be the first to solve a puzzle on the piece of paper. Read the whole thing carefully and figure out the key that will open the door. There are fifty keys to select. The first one to find the right key wins."

-Confessional Session(Lilly)-

"I tried to help her," Lilly said. "But by the time she actually wanted to work as a team it seemed like it was too late. ...I kind of pity her. I mean, I know deep down I'm sure there's a decent person inside her, but her thinking is very narrow. I might be able to beat her if she uses her disdain for me as fuel. Cause I don't really have disdain for her. ...Just pity. ...Well frustration and pity."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Well, this is my last chance to get rid of her for the things she has done," Aria said. "I will annihilate her in this game."

-After Confessional-

"So, if there are any questions involving the challenge, please by all means speak up," Gola told them. ...There was nothing but silence. "No? Very well... begin!"

The competitors were trying to figure out the puzzle. All the clues would eventually lead to one number.

"The correct key is not a multiple of six," Lilly read out. "Okay, we can rule out six, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four..."

"...Thirty, thirty six, forty two, and forty eight," Aria trailed off. "Next the number cannot be rolled with two six-sided die. That rules out one through twelve."

"That rules out two through twelve," Lilly said to herself. "One. ...Worth a try." Lilly thought the question made it obvious that the answer was one, since you could only roll one of eleven numbers with two die, of which one was not among those digits. ...Unfortunately she was wrong. "Oh well, I'll keep going."

"Take the amount of remaining digits and divide them by the amount of contestants left after this challenge," Aria said to herself. "Let us see... thirty two contestants. ...Wait, that can't be right."

"Sixty five digits, but that is not divisible by nine," Lilly said "Ah, round it off to the nearest number, then..."

"...Times it by three..." Aria was starting to get stressed. "No! I have to beat her!"

"Next add the amount of eliminated contestants NOT including the loser of this challenge," Lilly said to herself. And then think of the alphabet. Each contestant starts with a letter. Add the place of the first letter in the names of the odd numbered eliminated contestants, then subtract the first letter of the even ones. Then subtract the first letter of the beaver's name, the witch doctor, and add the owner of this base. Do this correctly, and victory is yours."

"No! Where did I mess up?" Aria asked as she was just sticking cards in at random now, trying to see if one would open the door.

Eventually, intensity was burning. But suddenly, one of the doors busted open. It was Lilly, she had solved the challenge.

"Forty-three!" She blurted out happily. Aria immediately heard this and she did NOT feel good.

"Some how, I didn't think I would actually beat her," Aria blurted out.

Lilly happily rushed to the doorway of the stronghold, which fortunately the holding prison she was in was right near the entrance. ...But when she got close, Gola swooped down and stood in front of the doorway.

"Oh come on!" Lilly shouted.

"Well, you are obviously SMARTER than the other loser," Gola said. "But now it's time for one more test."

"That's not fair," Lilly said. "Why can't I just go?"

"You can, but first you must listen," Gola stated. "Get back over to the door you worthless wuss!"

"Oh brother." Lilly went back to the door of her prison. "Alright, tell me what the situation is."

"Well, since you have won the challenge, YOU have earned freedom," Gola said.

"Okay, and what happens to Aria?" Lilly asked.

"She will be returned to the group as well with a bit of a change," Gola said. "She will be MUCH less hideous!"

"Well... she's a Malamar, I don't think you can make her look pretty," Lilly stated.

"I heard that you know!" Aria shouted.

"Okay, so what's the operation?" Lilly asked.

"Because as I said I ALWAYS get my way, your friend will be turned into a MAJOR zombie!" Gola said.

"She's not my friend but... wait, WHAT?" Lilly asked.

"And the virus injected to her is the same virus that is SWARMING the contaminated milk!" Gola said.

"And that's relevant because?" Lilly asked.

"Hey, I thought you were smart!" Gola shouted. "If Bertram has a potion that could cure zombification, why would he need the quarantine chamber?"

"That's... a good question," Lilly said.

"It's because THIS virus, while a work in progress, can NOT be cured by that STUPID potion!" Gola shouted. "It is MUCH stronger than the normal virus and the only way to cure it right now... is nothing, there is NO WAY to cure THAT VIRUS!"

"Wow, you must have some powerful scientists working on it," Lilly said.

"So to combat this, Bertram can only banish the contestants contaminated with the virus," Gola mentioned.

"Right, can I leave now?" Lilly asked.

"Aria will be a victim to the virus as well," Gola said. "BUT you can save her!"

"I can?" Lilly asked.

"Yes you can," Gola stated. "You can do so by taking her place."

"Wait, what!?" Lilly shouted.

"Correct!" Gola shouted. "And might I say if you refuse, the contestants will eventually find out, and while you STILL have a chance at the grand prize, it will likely go down once people know what you did."

"...The only friend she has is Wren," Lilly said.

"Let's sweeten the deal," Gola said. "You decide to save her, and I courtesy of Dagger Eyes himself will throw in a thousand bucks that will be sent to your family. Sure, it's a fraction of the grand prize, but ha! It's still better than leaving empty handed!"

"...Actually it cost about that just get to get on the show," Lilly said.

"Really? Wow, Pokemon are desperate aren't they?" Gola asked. "TWO thousand: Enough to cover the cost of admission, while you still have some left over."

"Hmmmm..." Lilly thought for a moment.

"Well?" Gola asked, waiting for Lilly's reaction.

"How badly do I need the money?" Lilly asked herself. "I could leave with a sure thing, or risk going home with nothing. ...But then again I would upset Muffy if I left. ...What to do, what to do..."

For now, we will leave her to thought. In the mean time, we return to the bunkers.

Back at the bunkers, everyone was waiting anxiously for Lilly and Aria. Muffy was really worried.

"Where's Lilly?" Muffy asked. "She's not going away, is she?"

"Don't worry," Wren comforted. "It may seem like a cliffhanger, but all you can do is hope for the best."

"Lilly will come back," Muffy said.

"She may, she may not," Wren said.

Suddenly, Bertram appeared on the screen of the new bunker. He had an announcement.

"Everyone at the Quarantine Chamber," Bertram said.

"Huh, there's a ceremony?" Drenig blurted out.

"I guess so," Percy responded.

"Ooh, this sounds fun," Grant said.

"No... it doesn't," Kiki responded.

"We'll, I guess we will have to wait and see," Drenig said.

"It's probably the verdict of Lilly and Aria," Jet mentioned.

"I wouldn't doubt that," Percy mentioned.

Eventually everyone met Bertram back at the Quarantine chamber. This is where things would be answered.

"What's going on?" Dustin said. "There aint no elimination today is there?"

"Oh there will be," Bertram said. "Our contestants have went through Gola's labyrinth to get ingredients, and two were captured and put through a challenge. But both are coming back, one alive and kicking, and one... to send a message."

Grant started to giggle nefariously. Whether he was an evil genius or not, he was doing a good job sticking with the theme.

"Okay, just tell us what happened," Jet said.

"Please say Muffy's best friend Lilly is alright," Muffy said.

"Let's find out," Bertram said. "Bring out the first contestant."

Eventually, one of the contestants walked up the steps. It was a bit suspenseful, but eventually it was plain to see who it was.

...

...

...

...

...It was Aria!

"Well... I'm back gang," Aria said.

Wren ran up to Aria and started jumping. He was happy that his friend was alright.

"You made it?" Wren asked. "Good for you Aria. ...But... What happened to Lilly?"

"Yes, where's Lilly?" Muffy asked.

Eventually another Pokemon came up the steps. It was, indeed, Lilly. ...But she was discolored. She was covered in grass and she looked like one of the zombie actors.

"Lilly!" Muffy shouted. "What happened! What have they done to you!?"

"It appears Lilly won a challenge for freedom, but sacrificed herself to save Aria," Bertram said.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Muffy cried.

"Muffy, don't feel sad," Lilly said in a drab tone. "We can still be friends."

"Lilly. Why did you do it?" Muffy asked.

"...Because I wanted to teach Aria a lesson," Lilly said. "I wanted her to see the error of her ways the hard way. I wanted to show her that I am not a bad person, and that I had no malice against her. I also wanted to keep this as a reminder that she is still here because I let her stay. ... Maybe she will also realize what a fool she has been to treat me and possibly the only friend she has the way she did."

Aria indeed started to feel a bit sad. It was like she wanted something off her chest. And yet, she stayed silent.

"Aria..." Wren started.

"I... can't believe she would blow a shot at the big cash for me," Aria said. "...But why, I thought she hated me. ...Am I wrong about Lilly?"

"Aria... aren't you going to say something?" Wren asked.

"I have so many thoughts on my mind," Aria said. "...Thank you? I'm sorry I wasn't more help in..."

"Shhh... your apology is accepted," Lilly said as she went to the chamber. "No one is perfect, and we all have our demons. Goodbye Aria. Goodbye Muffy."

"Lilly! Don't go!" Muffy cried.

Eventually, the chamber shut on Lilly and the gas consumed her. Eventually, she was gone. This was a dark day in Quarantine.

"This has not been Muffy's happy adventure," Muffy said. "First Yoshi, and now Lilly is gone."

"...Don't worry," Wren said. "You still have me. And I'm sure you have other friends."

"You... think so?" Muffy asked.

"I'm sure of it," Wren assured.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Yeah right!" Jet shouted. "That whiny brat getting friends? Good luck with that."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I'll admit she has admirable traits," Kiki said. "But her emotional breakdowns are hard to take seriously."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Poor delusion Wren," Grant said. "He thinks he can make it ALLLLL better just by telling Muffy a white lie."

-After Confessional-

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Maybe I was wrong about Lilly," Aria said. "What if it really was all my fault. I just... I feel bad that she left just to teach me a lesson, but at the same time I'm glad she at least leaves without empty hands. That was kind of nice of Dagger Eyes really. ...Maybe I should make it up to her by befriending Muffy. It might even make Wren happy to help him too."

-After Confessional-

Bertram was ready to say the last farewells for the episode.

"Nine competitors left, a whole lot of money up for grabs," he said. "Now that I think of it, have I ever said HOW much money? I'm not sure, but it's over a million pokedollars. But the drama isn't over yet. Tune in next time for another adventure. Until then we say goodbye for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"What the heck!?"_

_It's Panda-monium as competitors face challenges set by Pandora himself._

_"Soon all the contestants will be wiped out!"_

_Competitors must solve puzzles and mazes to find Pandora._

_"This is just a big toy-box."_

_Who will be the first to reach him?_

_"That will be me."_

_"...Yeah right."_

_And what deadly secrets does Pandora hide._

_"No way! ...yet I can't really say I'm surprised."_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Pandora's Labyrinth._


	11. Chapter 11: Pandora's Labyrinth

Chapter 11: Pandora's Labyrinth

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"To Team Zap-Dos! May we always be friends."_

_The two teams were finally introduced to Team Mol-Tres._

_"We are destroying all evidence of Team Artic-Uno and Team Zap-Dos."_

_And the two teams celebrated by... uhh no, they just got the usual routine._

_"Can we go hunting now?"_

_For the challenges, teams were separated into five teams of two. Some worked well together..._

_"Muffy has no problems with her partner."_

_...While others were paired with mortal enemies._

_"Plenty more where that came from if you call me "Sidekick" again."_

_But one particular team just refused to get along._

_"No, I am just sick and tired of you people trying to justify a flawed diet. You need protein to survive, and nothing has more protein..."  
"Than dead animals, blah blah blah."_

_In the end, Lilly and Aria ended up on the bottom two._

_"I will give the two of you one last chance to escape my chamber."_

_Lilly beat Aria in a last chance challenge..._

_"Right, can I leave now?"_

_...But gave up her shot at the grand prize for two-thousand pokedollars and a chance to teach Aria a lesson._

_"Aria... aren't you going to say something?"_

_Now half of the contestants are gone, and half still remain. Who will win the grand prize?_

**-Pandora's Toy Box-**

Most of the contestants were able to sleep easy. Most of them didn't have any true connections with Lilly. But one contestant in particular was having a hard time sleeping: her best friend. Muffy lied in her bed thinking about Lilly.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Now that Lilly is gone, I can't stop thinking about it," Muffy said. "What would Lilly want me to do. What would Yoshi want me to do? Stay brave, that's the obvious answer. But Muffy doesn't know how brave she can be. But I've made it this far in the competition. All I can do is press on. I just hope Wren can fill the hole in my current life that Lilly used to fill. Wren seems pretty nice, but... he's also friends with that Malamar, and I don't trust her one bit. Does that mean Wren isn't to be trusted?"

-After Confessional-

Muffy decided to rest under the tree near her old bunker, which was now the bathroom. She decided to watch the stars for the night. She just couldn't sleep, and it bugged her that her best friend is now gone. But while staring towards the sky, she saw something to her left that startled her. There was a thick purple cloud of smoking coming towards the bunkers. This caused Muffy to freak out, and she ran into the bunkers to warn everyone.

"Ack! There's a huge wave of purple mist coming towards us!" Muffy yelled.

"Wait, what's going on?" Aria asked, waking up from her nap.

"Trying to sleep here!" Jet cried out.

"Purple mist! Purple mist! I think something's coming!" Muffy blurted out.

Suddenly, Bertram appeared on the screen in the bunker. He didn't seem too freaked out for some reason.

"Ah yes, plague gas," Bertram said. "Some nights that stuff creeps around. But fortunately it should be gone by morning. In the mean time, stay inside. But just so you are not tempted to go OUT-side, the doors will now be locked till morning."

Eventually, they could all hear a click sound at the door. I guess that meant it was locked.

"Great, nap time!" Jet shouted.

"Wait, why can't we combat the mist?" Drenig asked.

"I... don't know how, just stay inside," Bertram said.

"Why can't we find out?" Wren asked.

"Because it's too late!" Bertram shouted. "Stay inside. We'll discuss things in the morning!"

"Do we know whether Dagger Eyes is involved or not?" Aria asked.

"No we do not," Bertram said.

"Something tells me you're just using the mist as an excuse to keep us inside," Aria said.

"No one asked you!" Bertram yelled. "Just go to bed already! We'll discuss it later! ...Huh?"

Bertram logged off with that one final sound: Huh? That could mean trouble. ...But at the same time it could mean anything.

"Huh. He left after saying "huh," Percy mentioned.

"Oh I'm sure that means something's up," Aria said.

"That could mean anything," Kiki said. "Right now I'd really want to go to sleep."

"Yeah, I could really use some shut-eye too," Percy said.

"Well I can't sleep," Muffy said. "Anyone want to play a board game with me?"

"...Do they have Dungeons and Dragonites?" Dustin asked. "I brought a game set from home, but they made me and Drenig leave it on the truck."

"...No, I don't think so," Muffy said. "Ooh, they have Oligarchy: Master of the Hoops edition. They also have Gamble: Master of the Hoops edition."

"I do like Master of the Hoops," Dustin stated. "But I'm too tired right now to play. Maybe in the morning."

"Wren, what about you?" Muffy asked.

"Would love to," Wren started. "But I kind of share his sleepiness, Muffy. Maybe in the morning."

"...No one?" Muffy asked

"Well... *Yawn* I am willing to play," Aria said.

"You?" Muffy asked. "I don't know if I want..."

"I... feel kind of guilty your best friend had to leave for me," Aria said. "I... Know I didn't like Lilly that much but... well..."

"Do you really feel guilty, or are you just saying that?" Muffy asked.

"No, Lilly really did make me think," Aria said. "In fact, she's on my mind right now too. Maybe I was unfair to her. And now I want to make amends by being your friend."

"...Well..." Muffy was still unsure if he wanted to accept her friendship.

"Not all Malamar are evil," Aria said. "I do really wish I can be your friend."

"As do I." Suddenly, Aria and Muffy both looked back and saw Grant approaching the two. "I'd like to play too."

"No, go away Grant," Muffy said. "I am already having a hard time trusting Aria. But you? How can I trust you?"

"What have I really done?" Grant asked. "Besides, everyone knows I'm a phony. Am I a bad person just cause I like to play the evil scientist motif?"

"But why do you want to be friends with Muffy?" Aria asked. "I want to because I want to try and correct my mistakes. I don't know..."

"Well, I need allies," Grant said. "And to do that, I need to make friends. If I don't make friends, I could be sent home soon. I just want to get to know people before it's too late for me."

"I still don't trust you," Muffy said.

"Hold on Muffy, maybe we should," Aria said.

"But I don't..." Muffy started.

"We're just playing a board game, what's the worst that could happen?" Aria asked.

"Well... Alright," Muffy gave in.

"Alright," Grant said. "Now let's roll dice to see who goes first."

"...You don't even know what game we're playing yet," Aria said.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"NOW I know who my next target is," Grant said. "It's that whiny Muffy character. She has been one of my worst opponents so far, always ridiculing me and my evil ways. I must have her eliminated as soon as possible. Phase... three... ...Started."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I don't trust Grant either," Aria stated. "Something is terribly wrong with him. No one can act like an evil villain for that long. ...But then again, I might need some proof."

-After Confessional-

Morning struck and they were STILL playing board games. Muffy, Aria and Grant were playing Olagarcy: Master of the Hoops edition when Wren, Dustin and Drenig decided to tag into the game. Wren wanted to join his friends and Dustin showed interest last night. He also talked Drenig into playing. Drenig started a discussion on the game they were playing.

"Ay, why are their so many version of Oligarchy?" Drenig asked. "Space Battles Oligarchy, Dr. How Oligarchy, Bernardo Oligarchy, Zap Shaymin Oligarchy, City Sluggers Oligarchy, Sky Earth Heroes Oligarchy, I would not be surprised if there was an Wrenchers Oligarchy. Anyone seen the movie Wrenchers? It's a classic."

"I love musicals," Aria said with a smile. "Do you remember the song they sang at the end of the movie? _I am mad for you, do you love me too oh woo hoo hoo!"_

_"If ya hang with me, we'll create a tree, oh shoo-be-do,"_ Drenig sang.

_"I am mad for you, do you love me too oh woo hoo hoo!"_ Aria and Drenig sang in unison. _"Oh tell me true, you know you do!"_

"Drenigs not as good of a singer as Aria is, is he?" Wren asked Dustin.

"Who cares, it's still fun to listen to," Dustin said as they both sang along.

_"I am mad for you, do you love me too oh woo hoo hoo! If ya hang with me, we'll create a tree, oh shoo-be-do! I am mad for you, do you love me too oh woo hoo hoo, oh tell me true, you know you do!"_

"Whatever, I'm buying Saint John's Place," Grant said.

While it looked like Aria and Drenig were having fun singing to old Rock-a-Billy musicals, Kiki, Jet and Percy were ready to step in.

"Guys, I know Quarantine may seem like fun and games but there's work involved too," Kiki said.

"Oh right," Aria said."Would someone like to assist me in the kitchen?"

"I will," Wren said.

"Anyone else?" Aria asked.

"What about you, Muffy?" Wren asked.

"Uhhhh... sure," Muffy said, still unsure what to make of Aria.

"Can I come too?" Grant asked.

"Ummmm..." Muffy trusted Grant even less.

"I wouldn't mind coming too," Percy mentioned. "I would actually like to brush up on my cooking skills, maybe redo the steak I burnt on day four."

"That would be nice of you Percy," Aria mentioned.

"Alright, I'll meet you in the kitchen," Percy said. He went to the door and noticed it was unlocked. He opened it and headed for the kitchen.

...But when going there, he immediately ran into a wall. ...A big invisible wall that no one could see.

"What the heck!?" Percy yelled.

"What the heck what?" Kiki asked looking outside.

"There's a big invisible object here!" Percy said.

"That's dumb, what are you pulling," Kiki said before going outside... and walking into another invisible wall. "For goodness gracious, what's going on!?"

"This seems oddly familiar," Wren stated. "Like something I read in an old book."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"In this book I read, we Pokemon are companions to humans," Wren said. "They would take us to fight all these other Pokemon at a place called a Gym. There's one particular Gym that has these strange invisible walls. I wonder if this has anything to do with said gym."

-After Confessional-

Jet rushed outside to see for himself. Eventually he rushed past an invisible wall and found himself stuck between TWO invisible walls, not being able to find the way he came into the hall of invisible walls.

"Bertram! This isn't funny!" Jet yelled.

"Jet, trying going left then forward," Kiki said. "You may find your way out."

Jet did what Kiki asked him to do. What do you know, he did it.

"It worked!" Jet exclaimed.

"But we still don't know why all these invisible walls are here," Percy said.

"Oh please," Aria said as she walked out. "It's obviously something of Dagger Eye's doing," Aria stated. "I thought we've been through this before."

"No! Let go of me!" Just then, everyone's attention was on one of the bunkers bastions. They saw Bertram and two Ursarings up there, and the Ursarings were trying to shove Bertram into a cannon.

"Sorry, but this time Pandora wants to make sure he gets rid of everyone involved," an Ursaring said.

"Not to mention your shifty little bed salesman," the other Ursaring said.

"...I'm never going to get used to the bed salesman slash super spy gag," Aria said.

But as luck would have it, Wyler was also being restrained by Ursaring and shoved into a bastions cannon.

"You will NOT see ignorance from my followers!" Bertram said. "They will put an end to all of you!"

"Ha! You think Pandora didn't plan that through?" the first Ursaring asked.

"Why do you think all those invisible walls are there?" the second one asked.

"Yeah, we put them there," the first one added. "AND we summoned the mist too."

Eventually one Ursaring from each group went into the Bastion and blasted the cannons off. Bertram and Wyler went soaring.

"YOU HAVE NOT HEARD THE LAST OF UUUUUUUUUUSSSSS!" Bertram yelled as he went spiraling off into the sky, probably saved by bird Pokemon once they were out of sight.

"Now, as for you guys," an Ursaring started. "Pandora plans to have a LOT of fun with you guys. ...in what will now be called PANDORA'S LABYRINTH!"

**-Witching Walls-**

"Huh, shooting Jet out of a cannon," Grant blurted out. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"You want to do WHAT!?" Jet yelled.

"Guys, we have to stay calm," Percy said. "Alright, where is Pandora hiding?"

"Try going through the maze to the other bunkers," the Ursaring mentioned.

"Why would he make a base in the bunkers?" Kiki asked.

"Don't you know?" Aria asked. "The trap-doors to the cannons are still in there. It's obvious Pandora is hiding up there beyond the Ursarings."

"What? Near the Quarantine Chamber?" Drenig asked.

"Muffy aint scared of any lousy bears!" Muffy yelled.

"Fine! If you think you can make it through the maze, then come to Pandora's ship at the top of the bunkers," an Ursaring said.

"Lucky for you our flying ship is out of fuel right now and we can't escape," another one said. "Stupid Dagger Eyes didn't even give us back-up fuel."

"Sounds like you're just using that as an excuse to give us a chance," Aria said. "Any real villain would have extra fuel."

"We just forgot, okay?" the Ursaring said.

"Come on guys," Dustin said. "We aren't going to make progress if we just chat around here. Thy foul wizard will taste my blade!"

"Good luck guys," another Ursaring said. "This will be fun to watch."

"I guess all we can do is feel around the area," Percy said. "We'll probably be able to tell where the walls are easier that way."

"That's easy for you guys," Wren said. "I don't like being a Quadruped right now."

"How do they even make invisible walls?" Muffy asked.

"Beats me," Drenig stated.

Eventually, the contestants were off trying to feel around the course. Unfortunately, it was a huge invisible maze that would be easy to get lost in. After fifteen minutes, the contestants were not even close to either bunker.

"Ugh, can't think on an empty stomach," Jet said.

"I didn't know you were even capable of thinking," Percy joked.

"You're gonna pay for that remark, Percy!" Jet shouted.

"If only there was a sign," Kiki said. "What if I just punched the walls to shatter them."

"Good luck with that!" an Ursaring called out.

After fifteen more minutes, the Ursaring were starting to laugh.

"You guys STILL haven't found the entrance to EITHER past bunker?" an Ursaring shouted.

"Everyone... meat at kitchen," Aria said.

"You guys could have at least let us eat," Wren shouted.

"I dunno, that's actually quite clever," Grant said. "Oh what am I saying, that's too evil."

"Even the villain kid thinks you're game is stupid!" Kiki shouted.

"This is getting old," one of the Ursarings said. "You guys have fun, I'll be at the buffet."

"No! I'm not going to be beaten by a maze!" Muffy yelled. "Not this time!"

Grant had a feeling this would be a perfect chance to bond with Muffy and get on her good side. So that is what he did. He went and helped her.

"Don't worry Muffy, I'll help you," Grant said.

"Get away!" She shouted. "You'll just make things worse again!"

"No, this time I really want to help," Grant said. "Follow me. If we feel around long enough, we can find the right path."

"Okay, but I'm still not sure..." Muffy started.

"Trust me, okay? I can help," Grant assured. "This way!"

Meanwhile, Percy had hit another dead end. Jet was nearby and saw him in the situation. Problem was, typical Jet wanted to make things worse.

"What's wrong Percy? Left your yarn at home?" Jet asked.

"Still trying to find my way out," Percy stated.

"Oh please! You're so pathetic!" Jet said. "Deep beneath those big muscles lies a character who's only good for strength."

"I could still kick your tail," Percy said.

"Oh yeah?" Jet asked. "You have no idea. One day, I'm going to be a magnificent Greninja, superior among all creatures! And you will stay an ugly fat cat."

"You are really asking for it, you jerk!" Percy shouted.

"Bring it! Back those muscles up!" Jet yelled.

Immediately Percy bolted towards Jet like a rampaging Tauros. Problem was... he forgot about the invisible walls. Percy smashed right into a wall and Jet started laughing at him like mad.

"Oh, after you lose this challenge, you will be gone!" Percy shouted.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"You won that round," Percy said. "But with attitude like that, you will NOT last long."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Ha ha ha! He is just too much," Drenig said. "What a card!"

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Dustin and Drenig were working together when they both found TWO possible paths to go down. They were deciding what to do.

"Ay think I should go down this one," Drenig said.

"Thy be fine with that," Dustin said. "Then I shall go down this one," Dustin said as he went down the other path.

Drenig felt the walls through and through, not watching where he was going when suddenly he bumped right into Kiki. He even knocked her over.

"Oww... man, I did not see you there," Drenig said.

"I suppose that was no one's fault," Kiki said.

"Here, let me help you up," Drenig said before kneeling down to offer Kiki his claw.

When they locked claws, they both started to look at each other. Drenig felt a bit nervous as he was helping her up. He still remembered what Bertram told them about their compatibility.

"Ummm, thank you," Kiki said.

"Ay, uhhh, that didn't mean anything," Drenig said.

"I know, you were just being nice," Kiki said. "You're eyes... they are actually very..."

Drenig was listening to Kiki's words and started to blush. Maybe he did have a thing for her.

"...Bizarre," Kiki finished. "Those big black shapes on your face, they're not your entire eye? They look kind of scary."

Drenig felt a bit more normal now. And yet he kind of felt like giving a bit back.

"Yeah, that comes with being a Krookodile I guess," he said. "Your hand... you have a very strong grip..."

Now Kiki started to feel the same way. She blushed as she was feeling nervous.

"And rough," Drenig said. "Your claws feel like pumice."

Kiki went back to normal as well. Still, she wasn't angry either.

"Yeah, that comes with being a Combuseken I guess," she said. "Anyway, this is just a dead end so you should probably go back."

"Okay," Drenig said. "Uhhh... you first."

"Okay," Kiki said as she walked off down the hall.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Heh, some odd coincidental situation involving the book," Drenig said. "I doubt it's anything to take seriously."

-After Confessional-

After about fifteen more minutes, someone finally found a way out. Aria had made it all the way to the kitchen.

"Ha! I knew I could figure this course out eventually," She said as she went to the door.

But as luck would have it, others weren't far behind. Dustin found the same door, and was close to. Meanwhile, Kiki and Drenig weren't much further behind. On the other side, Jet found the bathroom bunker, and Grant and Muffy were following along. But Wren and Percy were still behind in the maze.

"What the, where's Wren?" Aria asked herself as she looked back and saw Wren was still in the maze. Aria decided to go back and help.

Wren was not too far away from Percy. Eventually, the two bumped into each other.

"Oh, hello little guy," Percy said. "You... still stuck in the maze too?"

"Yeah, I guess," Wren said.

"Well, I suppose we could work together for now," Percy said.

"Sure, that would be nice," Wren agreed.

"Maybe you could help me some other way," Percy asked. "I would really like to get one on Jet. Maybe you could help?"

"I don't know," Wren said. "Revenge isn't..."

"I wouldn't call it revenge," Percy said. "But I would like to send him home."

"Who WOULDN'T want that?" Wren asked.

"Yet I feel it's not good enough," Percy said. "Any ideas on what else I could do?"

"Just let him go, he's not worth it," Wren said.

"You mean let him get away with his tomfoolery?" Percy asked. "No, I must do something."

"I still say voting him off is good enough," Wren said.

"I would like to do that asap," Percy said. "But I don't know, Jet's a strong competitor."

"I have not seen him do anything that suggests so," Wren said. "He seems like a..."

"Wren?" Aria eventually found her way to the group. "Wren, let's go, I found a way out."

"Oh, thanks Aria," Wren said as they went on. Percy followed in suit.

When Dustin, Kiki and Drenig entered the kitchen, things seemed innocent enough. ...Until Dustin tried to go through the trap door. ...It was locked and there was a slot near the door.

"Thy door is locked," Dustin said.

"How cute," Kiki said. "There are instructions here. It says there are five card keys hidden in this room. Only those with card keys may enter through the trap door. If you can't find a card key, try the other bunker. This is just a big toy box."

"Well, we won't find the keys just standing around," Drenig said before looking in the drawers. He started pulling pots out and as luck would have it, he found a key. "Hey, I already found one.

Kiki was searching through a big stack of pots and eventually found another. She seemed a bit happy.

"Me too," Kiki said before going to the trap door. Drenig went to the door as well as his friend looked through the refrigerator and found another.

"Right behind you!" He called out. Eventually, everyone there had a card key, but Wren, Aria and Percy arived too. It was their turn to find card keys.

"I'm forgetting, is this supposed to be a race or not?" Wren asked.

"I think so," Aria said. "After all, we're not on separate teams anymore so we can assume we're fighting for ourselves."

Wren bolted toward the trap door ladder, but once again he was unable to open it. He learned the hard way.

"It's not going to be that easy Wren," Percy said. "It says here there are..."

"Card keys, like this one, right?" Aria asked, revealing a key she found in the sink full of dishes.

"How did you find that so quickly?" Percy asked.

"Never assume it will be that easy," Aria said.

"Alright, let's keep looking," Percy said before he went around the kitchen. Wren did the same.

Wren was struggling to find another card key, but no matter where he looked he could not find any. But Percy had an inkling. Percy lifted the microwave on the counter, and there it was, the last key card.

"Got it," Percy said as he went to the trap door. But suddenly, Wren was getting frustrated.

"No! Where's the card? Why can't I find one?" Wren asked. "Come on, come on!" Wren was working himself up.

"If I recall, Dustin, Kiki and Drenig were in here," Aria said. "It's safe to assume me and Percy have the last ones."

"NO! I can't go through the maze again," Wren cried.

"You won't have to," Aria said before walking to Wren and giving him her card key. "Take mine."

"...You'd sacrifice your shot at winning this game just to let me go forward?" Wren asked.

"It's just the beginning," Aria said. "Plus I want to be nice to my friends."

"Yay! Thanks Aria," Wren cheered.

"I'll have to go find the other bunker, but I think I can do it," Aria said. "Wish me luck guys."

"Huh, she's actually kind of nice," Percy said.

"Yeah, she is actually quite a nice person when you get to know her," Wren said.

Eventually, the two went up the trapdoor to finish their challenge. But they were still behind.

Over at the other bunker, Jet immediately bolted toward the trapdoor just as Dustin and Wren did. Just like them, the door did not open.

"Hey! This isn't funny! I have to get there first!" Jet yelled.

Jet started to bang on the door like an idiot. That was when Muffy and Grant came into the building.

"See? I actually did help you," Grant said.

"Well... I guess you did," Muffy said.

Grant went to the wall and saw a similar sheet that Kiki and Percy saw. Grant looked over at Jet and started to laugh.

"What's the matter idiot?" Grant asked. "Forgot the password?" Grant started to look around the bathroom for a card key.

"This stupid door won't budge!" Jet yelled.

"Did you try saying "Open sesame?" Grant asked.

"Ha ha ha, very funny!" Jet shouted.

Eventually, Grant found a card key wrapped in towels hung on a towel bar near the shower. He then handed the card key to Muffy.

"Here, you take this one, I'll find another," Grant said.

"That... is kind of you," Muffy said.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Maybe Grant really has changed," Muffy said. "Or maybe he was always like this and he just hid it behind his evil genius motif. Who's to say, but he's a lot nicer than he was before. ...And he's funny too."

-After Confessional-

"What are you guys doing?" Jet asked.

"You're supposed to look for a card key," Muffy said as she approached the ladder to the trap door. "Now get down! Muffy needs to get through!"

"Ugh, stupid Dagger Eyes," Jet said as he climbed down to look for a card.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Jet is such an idiot," Grant said. "He didn't even bother trying to look for an alternate solution? He won't be much of a threat in this game."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Grant the Dastardly obviously under-estimates me," Jet said. "I'll show him! I'll get to Pandora first and nothing will stop me."

-After Confessional-

Grant eventually found another card key in a rack of magazines near one of the toilets. He then proceeded to mock Jet before climbing up the ladder.

"See ya later, frog mush!" Grant said as he climbed up the ladder.

Jet had not found a key card by the time Aria found her way into the bathroom area. Jet was searching through the toilets trying to find it. Aria's first instinct was to look inside boxes of soap. Sure enough, she found one in a box of soap that was outside the showers. She went towards the ladder and saw Jet coming out of the toilets.

"You STILL haven't found a card?" Aria asked.

"Stop mocking me squid face!" Jet shouted. "I am going to win this challenge if it's the last thing I do!"

"Right, but you should know you're the last one to find a key," Aria said as she climbed up the ladder to the next part.

Eventually, most of the contestants were at the top. Dustin lead the way for the kitchen bunker group with Kiki, Drenig, Percy and Wren. Muffy lead the way for Grant, while Aria was trailing behind, and Jet was still in the bathroom. Suddenly, they were spotted by the Ursarings.

"Uh oh, they figured the maze out," one of them said. "What now?"

"Use the cannons!" another said.

"There's no time! They'll be here by then," a third reminded.

"Then run to the ship!" the first one said as they ran away from the group.

Eventually, the groups got closer to the ship, which seemed to be a very tall rocket. There were also elevators going up its side, and tubes trailing up the mid section. In fact, there was all sorts of fun obstacles up the top, including jungle gym courses and then some. It looked positively fun really.

"So that must be Pandora's ship," Kiki said. "Right, that brat's gonna get it."

"Alright, food!" Drenig shouted as he pointed to a buffet filled with breakfast goods at the bottom of the rocket. There was an Ursaring there eating at the buffet, but he went inside the ship as soon as he saw the contestants.

"Oh good, they were thinking about us," Dustin said as we walked over to it. "Wow, there's scrambled Blaziken eggs, waffles, omlettes, breakfast wraps, all kinds of cereal... Ooh! Breakfast Emboar ham! Let's eat."

"I don't know, shouldn't we get going?" Kiki asked.

"We should at least get something to eat," Drenig suggested. "We haven't had breakfast yet."

"True... I guess it wouldn't hurt." Eventually, Kiki joined the two at the buffet. It wasn't long before Percy, Wren, Muffy and Grant showed up.

"No way! They had food stationed in front of the ship?" Wren asked.

"What foolish evil would be this stupid?" Grant asked. "Wouldn't it be wiser to starve us? Duh, not that I'm giving anyone any ideas."

"Look, Aria's coming," Muffy said as she saw Aria coming towards the buffet.

"Hey Aria, just in time," Percy said.

"Thanks," she said. "Sure is good to leave that stupid frog behind."

"See Percy, nothing to worry about," Wren said. "He'll be gone before you know it."

"To the victor go the spoils!" Dustin shouted aloud. The contestants stared at Dustin after he said that.

Suddenly, someone came bolting towards the group. It was Jet and he was determined. He saw the buffet and immediately bolted toward it. He quickly jumped over the buffet and grabbed a breakfast wrap in the process before running into the ship. He was eating the wrap while hopping.

"Ha! All I need isCOUGH! Ugh! Wheeze..." Jet was choking on his food as a result of talking, running and eating at the same time. He took a second to swallow his food before resuming his sentence. "All I need is to eat this wrap and not talk at the same time."

And just like that, Jet took the lead. Everyone seemed dumbfounded.

"Ack! No!" Percy shouted. "We have to stop him!"

"...Why?" Wren asked.

"Trust me, he's no good," Kiki said.

Eventually, the groups ran into the ship. They were all determined to beat Jet to the top.

**-Typical Self-Destruction Routine-**

"Hmmm... let's see," Jet said to himself as he looked inside the ship. There were nine rooms, each with a number. As expected, Jet went into room one without question. "Number one, because I am." The room he entered just happened to be an elevator to the next level.

As everyone else entered the ship, they saw the remaining eight rooms. They took a bit longer to think.

"One of the rooms is closed," Wren mentioned.

"Right, then it's obvious we have to choose one of the other rooms," Grant said.

"Let's all choose one," Drenig said. "They all seem like small rooms, so they're possibly elevators."

"Fine, let's go!" Aria shouted as she got into one of the rooms.

As everyone got into an elevator, Jet was on the second floor. When he got outside his room, he saw buttons outside the elevator. He tried pressing one, but the elevator went down. Then he went to another one of the doors and pressed a button. Eventually, an elevator came to help him reach the next floor. It seemed these elevators were part of a puzzle.

Down on the first floor, one player was having problems. It was Drenig.

"My elevator's not going up," Drenig blurted. "...Hello?" But everyone else was already going up. No one could hear Drenig.

As everyone got to the next floor, they started looking around the room. They had hit a wall now.

"...Okay, now what?" Kiki asked the group.

Eventually, someone's elevator door closed after they got out and was coming down to that level. They could hear shouting inside the elevator that was coming down.

"No! Up! Why is it going down!" There was no mistaking it was Jet. Eventually, the door opened and Jet saw everyone outside. "No! Go back up! Go back up!"

"Come on! Do you think I'd make it that easy?" Just then, another unmistakable voice called out. This time, it was Pandora. Eventually, Drenig's elevator finally came up to the second floor.

"Aww man, that Pandora dude again," Drenig blurted out.

"I forgot to mention till now, some of those elevators are not capable of going to the next floor," he said. "They are only capable of transfer between that floor and the previous floor. You just have to figure out which elevators go up and which stay in place."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Leave it to Dagger Eyes and his henchmen to think of something so clever," Drenig said. "But it looks like there will be more brain than skill in this event. I may or may not do good in that case, but at least Jet will probably do terribly."

-After Confessional-

"It's also a good time to mention that my chamber is a giant escape pod," Pandora said. "Unfortunately, it is malfunctioning right now, and my Ursaring henchmen aren't exactly the best mechanics. ...But they WILL fix the problem before you make it here. And when they do, I will press a shiny red button that will blow the entire ship up in ten seconds flat, which gives me and my crew enough time to escape. Soon all the contestants will be wiped out! And then... my revenge will be realized!"

"At least there's an actual excuse for why it will take so long rather than the cliched dragged-out timer most shows have," Aria said.

"Ha! As sarcastic and beautiful as ever I see," Pandora said. "Anyway, good luck. You'll need more than it."

"So... what now?" Wren asked. ...No one answered. Instead, the contestants scrambled towards elevators. They were pressing buttons like mad trying to find elevators that would take them up. The race was now under way.

Contestants went high and low trying to get to where they were going. Some had good luck, while others couldn't get the right luck. But one certain Pokemon found a way to trick the system. Grant decided to go inside elevators and quickly run out before the doors closed.

"Ha! That Pandora fool obviously underestimated me," he said watching the elevator lights go down.

He watched others use elevators that went up and decided to use the trick. On the next floor, he found Muffy, who was having trouble figuring the puzzle out. As been the usual for today, he decided to help her.

"Hey, Muffy. If you jump out of the elevator right before it closes, you can tell where it goes," he said.

"Really? Thanks," Muffy said. "You... seem to really like helping me."

"Like I said, want to stay in the game, you have to make friends," Grant said.

As they were trying the tactic, both Kiki and Drenig were having troubles. Eventually, they wound up on the same floor. ...alone.

"Oh, hi," Drenig said as he went to another elevator.

"Yeah, hello," Kiki responded before making her choice.

Meanwhile, Percy went through the challenge feeling very... rattled. He eventually ended up in the same room as Wren. Wren could tell something was up.

"What's wrong Percy?" Wren asked.

"Oh... it's nothing," Percy said. "This... place is kind of cramped though."

"I don't mind it," Wren said as he raced to another elevator. Percy went to another door and pressed a button to summon the elevator. It came up and opened to reveal... Jet again. What luck.

"Hey, you're blocking the way meat-head," Jet said as he bounced under his arms.

"Jet... Stop it! Why do you have to antagonize me?" Percy asked. Jet looked back and saw he was shaking. "I already... know you're jealous."

"Awww, is the big brave cat afraid of confined spaces?" Jet asked.

"No! Shut up!" Percy shouted as he chased after Jet. Jet hopped into an elevator before he could catch him.

"Aww, better luck next time!" Jet taunted as his doors closed and his elevator went up.

Percy was really starting to get angry at Jet as he went away. Jet was really getting on his nerves.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"I've wanted to cave in Jet's skull since day one," Percy said. "I've tried tolerating him, it hasn't worked. I really hope someone puts him in his place."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, the first contestants made it to the second section. It was Grant and Muffy. Grant was still trying to help, but this time was unsure.

"Let's see," Grant said. "Holes with covers. So I guess we go through the covers and through whatever's on the other side."

Grant went through one of the holes and through a cover. Before him, as he cleared the cover, a screen shut him off from going back. In front of him were some blinds. Grant went through the blinds and found out that he was in a large tube.

"Once you go in you can't go back," Grant said as he crawled through the tube.

Muffy also choose a tube to crawl through. Unfortunately, hers only went around to another tube. When she came around, she saw Wren had made it to the tubes.

"Wren? You've gotten far," Muffy said.

"You seen Jet anywhere?" Wren asked.

"What about him?" Muffy asked. "Yeah, he's a jerk but what about him?"

"Percy wants me to beat him in this game," Wren said.

"Well... good luck," Muffy stated. "Nothing else to say."

Wren went through one of the holes to resume the challenge. Muffy decided to go through another hole. But before she cleared the blinds, she hear another character come through. ...It was Jet.

"Ack! He's gaining on us!" Muffy yelled as she scrambled through her tube. Jet just shook his head and smiled.

"Ha, tubes," Jet said to himself. "This will be easy." Jet eventually popped through one of the tubes It was basically him versus everyone else.

More and more competitors made it to the tubes. Eventually Drenig made it up there and as he did, he noticed another elevator across from him in use.

"Not again," Drenig said to himself as it eventually reached the floor and opened up. "Kiki, how do we keep..." It was Aria.

"Kiki? I'm not Kiki," Aria said.

"Oh, sorry about that," Drenig said. "Let's just say a lot of weird things have happened between me and her today."

"Do I hear wedding bells?" Aria asked.

"No! Nothing like that!" Drenig shouted. "It's just that I can't seem to get away from her. I keep bumping into her and..."

"Hey Drenig, what's going on?" Drenig looked behind and saw his friend Dustin had made it up there.

"Oh, hi Dustin," Drenig said. As Drenig was talking to Dustin, Aria left into one of the tubes. She didn't know about them, but she wouldn't mind winning. "Me and Aria were just... talking about Kiki."

"Why, do you like her?" Dustin asked.

"No! I mean yes! I mean... I don't know what I mean," Drenig admitted.

"Try not to over-think things," Dustin said. "Besides, you should be focusing on beating Jet right now."

"You're right," Drenig said. "Well, I guess we better get going." Drenig then tried to crawl through one of the tubes. ...He was not having an easy time with it.

"Oh boy, good luck Drenig," Dustin said to himself.

Higher up, Wren was crawling through one of the tubes, trying to get higher up that Jet, when he caught Jet right above him. Wren got nervous at that point.

"No! He's winning," he blurted out.

Eventually, Jet caught up with Grant as well. He caught him off guard as they got to the same room.

"Oh, hello there frog mush," Grant said. "And now goodbye," Grant said as he went through another tube.

"Oh yeah?" Jet asked as he hopped right into one of the other tubes. ...Except his tube was going down, and Grant's went up.

"I bet that fool wasn't even paying attention," Grant said.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"The tubes are transparent," Grant said. "Just look around and see what other tubes are around. It's gotten me this far, but I bet Jet's too dumb to notice."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Kiki reached the tubes as well. When she got up, she noticed the elevator away from her was coming up too. I think you might know where this one is going.

"Drenig, how do we keep bumping into each other?" Kiki asked. ...But of course as the doors opened, it was Percy in the elevator. "...Oh, sorry I thought you were..."

"What is this room?" Percy asked. "What are those holes? I don't have to go through them, do I?"

"Why are you asking?" Kiki asked.

"No reason, just wondering," Percy said. "So what now?"

"I've been running into Drenig a lot lately," Kiki said.

"...Okay," Percy said.

"It all started when Riley got eliminated and Bertram said me and Drenig were compatible," Kiki said.

"So? You're compatible," Percy said. "Doesn't mean you NEED to be in a relationship with him."

"I know," Kiki said. "But I still can't help but wonder."

"It's probably nothing," Percy said. "...Okay, right..." Percy hesitantly went inside one of the tubes. Kiki seemed to notice that Percy was claustrophobic.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Huh, now that I think of it, I notice a lot of big guys are claustrophobic," Kiki said. "Maybe it's because the world is smaller to them, so rooms seem to be caving in on them more often. ...That's my guess.

-After Confessional-

Grant was onto the next obstacle after clearing the last tube. This one was a hanging jungle-gym with a rope net stretched out a great distance below it, as well as cables for strapping onto. There were no tricks or puzzles for this one, just a jungle gym that ended in a series of rope ladders. Like the first floor, there was one of them for each contestant to have their own.

"Hmmm, how to go about this one," Grant said as he chose the gym next to him.

There were several sections: A narrow beam, narrow zig-zag boards, a long rope net bridge, a series of boards that rocked, two ropes placed vertically and a crank for lowering the high rope just to make it fair for the shorter contestants, followed by a round pillar with a narrow platform going around it, and ends with the rope ladders.

"Well, here goes nothing," Grant got himself strapped into the cable and started the course. Already, he was having a difficult time balancing on the narrow board. "Well at least there's a net down there."

Muffy was starting to get lost in her area. She didn't know which tubes to go through and which tubes not to. Unlike Grant, she didn't pay attention.

"Oh no... should I just go with one?" she asked herself. Eventually, someone popped out of the tubes. ...It was Jet again.

"Great. You again, that means I got sent all the way to the bottom," Jet said as he jumped out of the tube and ran towards another.

"Why do you have to..." Muffy called out, but it was too late, Jet had already gone through a tube. But... Jet did help her out a bit. "Hmmm... All the way to the bottom. ...That means he came out from higher up."

Eventually, Wren came through one of the tubes. Seems he was higher as well.

"Wren, I think I found a good tube," Muffy said. "Follow me."

"Hmmm... okay," Wren said as he watched Muffy go through the tube. ...Of course Muffy's tube closed off. Wren waited for it to open up again before going inside.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I've never had to trust Muffy before," Wren said. "I was uncertain if I should have, but I just went with it cause I didn't know if she was trustworthy or not."

-After Confessional-

As Muffy got out near the last of the tube floors, she caught a glimps of the tube that went up to the next obstacle. She figured she would wait for Wren to help him out. But before Wren could get there, Jet appeared right behind her. Muffy was able to tell though, and decided to make up a story.

"Wren, are you coming?" Muffy asked. "You have the use the one across from this one, that will lead to the next obstacle she said.

"Ha! Stupid Muffy," Jet yelled as he went into said tube. ...Only to be sent back down again. "STUPID MUFFY!"

Eventually, Wren DID come up. He did hear Muffy's advice though.

"I'm sorry, what?" Wren asked.

"Never mind I said that," Muffy said. "The tube we want to go through is to the right."

You said across," Wren said.

"Muffy wanted to trick Jet, so Muffy lied to trick Jet," Muffy said. "Why don't I go first? Muffy feels if she goes first it's easier for friend to trust her."

"I guess that makes sense," Wren said. Eventually, Muffy went through the tube up to the next challenge. Wren waited for the tube to open up when someone else came around. It was Aria.

"Hey little guy," Aria said. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for this door to open," Wren said. "Apparently it leads to the next obstacle. You can wait too if you want."

"I suppose that sounds like a plan," she said. "I wonder where everyone else is."

"I don't know," Wren said. "I haven't seen anyone besides Muffy and Jet since the elevators. ...Ah! Door opened up."

Wren went through the tunnel to go onto the next challenge. Aria decided to wait for the door to open. ...That was when Kiki showed up next. Kiki read Aria like a book.

"Are you waiting for the door to the next obstacle to open?" Kiki asked.

"Huh?" Aria looked over and saw Kiki. "Yeah, just make sure Jet doesn't know. It's kind of a funny line right now. Wren went through here not too long ago."

"I wonder where everyone is at," Kiki said. Kiki shook her head and proceeded to a second thought. "Nevermind, has Jet gone through here?"

"All I know is that that nice Raichu went through," Aria said. "Not sure about anyone else. ...Oh! My turn."

Aria went through the tube next and proceeded on with the challenge. Meanwhile, Drenig, Dustin and Percy were not making much progress at all. Eventually Drenig and Dustin both wound up in the same room as each other.

"Okay, crawling through tubes is not one of my fortes," Drenig said as he saw Dustin's face pop out of a tube across from him. Drenig tried getting out of his tube carefully, but fell over onto the floor in front of him. "I'm getting too fat for this."

"Thy would not speak so hastily," Dustin said. "Honestly, I think you lost a bit of weight since you first started."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Drenig said. "Maybe that pescitarian diet is helping."

"Possibly," Dustin said. "So... what to do now?"

"What do you mean, I thought we were supposed to go through the holes," Drenig stated.

"Yeah, but how far behind are we?" Dustin asked.

"We're probably on the bottom of the pack right now," Drenig said. "But hey, I may not look it, but I'm actually having fun. I never really got those play areas in the fast food joints, but now I see why kids like them. Still, the burgers at those joints sucked. I wonder if there's a burger joint that makes Magikarp burgers. ... Dustin?"

Dustin had just left after Drenig said he was on the bottom of the pack. That left him alone on that floor.

"Oh well, time to resume the puzzle," Drenig said as he tried to fit himself into another tube.

Meanwhile, Dustin wound up at the bottom again. He got there and saw that Percy had not even attempted the challenge yet.

"What's wrong Percy?" Dustin asked.

"Nothing... I just don't like squeezing myself into tiny tubes," Percy said.

"It's no big deal, just go on in," Dustin said.

"Umm... right," Percy blurted out. ...But he stood frozen at the tube entrance.

"Don't tell me you're afraid," Dustin said to him.

"No! I just... don't know which one to pick," Percy said.

"They're not even that dark for so long," Dustin said. "Come on!"

"Umm..." Percy eventually went inside a tube and as he crept inside, he started to panic. He immediately pulled himself out of the tube.

"What's wrong, a big guy like you shouldn't be afraid," Dustin said.

"I... I don't like confined spaces," Percy said.

"Wait, what?" Dustin asked. "I've never heard of anyone afraid of small spaces."

"It's called claustrophobia," Percy said. Percy looked back at Dustin and noticed he was just staring at him. "It's fear of confined spaces."

"Right," Dustin said as he went through another tube. "Well good luck then."

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Claustrophobia? What kind of weird phobia is that?" Dustin asked. "I understand fear of hights, spider Pokemon and being under water, but that one is weird."

-After Confessional-

Grant was not getting through the jungle gym very fast. In fact, he was going at a pace slow enough for Muffy to catch up. Muffy came through the second jungle gym door and immediately saw Grant tackling the course.

"Hey Grant!" Muffy called out. Grant looked back and smiled.

"Greetings MuffYEOW!" Grant got distracted and fell off the obstacle he was on down into the net below. "...Okay, that was my bad."

Not long after Muffy started the course, Wren came in as well. But he seemed a little... nervous.

"Oh great, another balance challenge," Wren said to himself as he strapped himself up. "Well, at least Jet won't win this one. He's terrible at balance."

There really wasn't anything eventful going on at the course, but eventually Aria was up there too. She couldn't see Muffy or Grant from her portion of the jungle gym, but she could see Wren.

"Kiki should be coming up soon," Aria said. "Unless she winds up in some crock's shadow again."

"Let's discuss that later, I need to focus," Wren said.

"Well Drenig told me earlier..." Aria started.

"I said not now!" Wren shouted.

"Okay, okay, later," Aria said.

Down by where Kiki is, Jet FINALLY got back to that room. He was really angry right now. But he saw Kiki waiting at the gate to the tube. This made him smile a bit.

"Hey Kiki!" Jet shouted. "What are you waiting for?"

"Oh, just a friend," Kiki said.

"YOU have friends?" Jet asked.

"Yes, and he's coming up the tube now," Kiki said. "I'm just waiting for him so I can tell him to go through that tube over there."

"Ha! What's your friends name?" Jet asked.

"You mean Wren?" Kiki asked.

"I aint seen you two together, you're pulling my leg," Jet shouted. Eventually started to anger Kiki.

"Listen, you have no idea who my friends are, so clam up!" Kiki shouted. ...But as quickly as the door opened, Jet bolted towards the door and went inside. "HEY!"

"You know there are two tubes going up, right?" Jet asked. "Try the other one."

After Jet stole Kiki's door, Kiki started to look to the other holes. She went through one of them and immediately found herself going down. She was highly startled by the steep incline she was going down.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Ugh! Jet is awful!" Kiki shouted. "He doesn't have any form of honor or humility, and he feels the need to act mean to others. What a bully! But not like the ones in my dojo, they are brawny kids. This guy's a whole new breed of bully. He's slinky and sly with a sharp tongue, something you would expect from Aria's kind."

-After Confessional-

As Kiki went down, she came out on a lower floor. She noticed one of the tubes away from her was closed. Maybe it was a way back up. Kiki waited for it, and was greeted by a familiar face. ...It was Drenig again.

"Uhhhh, coincidence?" Drenig asked.

"Coincidence," Kiki confirmed.

"Right, three coincidences," Drenig said. "...Could you help me out please? I think I'm stuck."

Kiki accepted and grabbed Drenigs claw and started pulling at it. Eventually, she managed to get him out.

"Thanks for that," Drenig said. "So... where are the others?"

"Far ahead," Kiki said. "We might be able to catch up if we go through the tube I went through though. You willing to wait?"

"Yeah man, I can do that," Drenig said.

"Alright, just wait for the door to open," Kiki said as she went over to the tube she was just in and crawled inside. Drenig did what he promised and waited for Kiki to finish.

Aria was not going through the course like a speeding Talonflame, but she had impeccable balance.

"Don't over-think it Wren," Aria called out. "Remember there's no rule against using your arms!"

"...There isn't?" Wren asked. "Thanks for the tip."

"Glad I could help," Aria said. "I think Kiki's coming through."

...But it wasn't Kiki, it was Jet who came through the next gym. He was looking quite fresh too.

"Another balance course?" Jet asked himself. "Ha! I've been practicing for this. It will not beat me this time!"

"Oh no..." Aria was starting to get worried about Jet. Yeah, he wasn't good at balance before, but he did practice. Maybe he was better this time around.

**-Jet Pilgrim VS The World-**

"Guys! Double time!" Aria shouted.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Everyone's against the Jet-frog," Jet said. "Maybe it's because they know I'm a threat. ...Wait, wasn't I supposed to be more humble? Oh what's the point, contestants STILL tried kicking me off. Only thing I can REALLY do is school the contestants at every compotition. Ha! Peace of cake!"

-After Confessional-

Aria was trying to speed up on the obstacles, but she kept looking over at jet, which threw her off. Jet realized there was no rule against using your arms this time, and was taking advantage of it. Meanwhile, Grant was up for another go, but he wasn't getting anywhere fast. Muffy was constantly messing up, and Wren wasn't doing much better even with his front paws. But Jet was wasting no time. He had easily gotten past the narrow board, but the zig-zags were slowing him down. ...But not enough. Aria was REALLY getting frustrated.

"Ugh! Come on Aria, you can do this," she said as she made it to the rope-bridge. But as she started it, Jet was blazing through it. This was pushing Aria to work harder, but may also cause her to mess up.

"Ha! I got much better at this, huh?" Jet asked. Except the challenge didn't have the same rules, and it was much easier for Jet.

"Watch your webbing!" Aria shouted at Jet.

Jet got to the rocking boards and he had a much harder time with them. The rocking boards would likely be the hardest of the obstacles besides the sidle pillar. Jet's confidence lowered a bit.

...And to shake his confidence more, Kiki was hot on his trail. She looked confident and ready to strike.

"Oh no you don't Jet!" Kiki called out. Kiki was able to clear the first two obstacles no problem, and Jet was STILL struggling on the rocking boards, giving her some more time to catch up.

"Oh yes I do!" Jet said as he was trying his hardest to stay dead center in the boards.

"What? Kiki? Is that you?" Aria called out. Kiki couldn't hear her, but Aria did feel more confident. She knew they would all have a better chance of beating Jet if they worked together, which helped Aria get through the rope bridge.

At this point, most of the competitors had no chance of catching up. Grant and Muffy were still on the zig-zags, and Wren was tangled in the rope bridge. Drenig managed to arrive at the jungle gym, but his performance on the course would surely be weak. Aria had a chance at beating him, but just barely, but Kiki was going to be Jet's main threat at this point.

Kiki was clawing her way through the rope bridge challenge, and Jet had just made it to the double ropes. Jet was really starting to feel confident.

"I'll get there before you do!" Jet called out, walking across the bottom rope while holding onto the top.

"We'll see about that!" Kiki said as she was stepping across the rocking boards.

Meanwhile, Wren got himself untangled from the rope bridge and moved onto the rocking boards, Muffy had an easier time on the rope bridge, but Grant was also getting stuck. Aria had also made it to the rocking boards and was trying to stay in the center. Drenig was... yeah, not even able to complete the narrow bridge. His balance was not even remotely decent.

Dustin took his time, but was eventually able to get to the jungle gym. He was having a better time at fighting the narrow beam.

"What's wrong, brave sir Drenig?" Dustin asked.

"This isn't because I'm too fat," Drenig said. "...It's because my tail is too long."

Try different techniques," Dusting stated.

While everyone else was tackling the jungle gym, Percy... was pretty much out of the running. He was too scared to go through the pipes to progress the challenge, and by that point he had no chance anyway. Percy felt kind of ashamed.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"The big brave Percy... can't even go through a small tunnel," he said. "I feel like such a failure right now. Oh I hope no one notices my actions. ...I'll bet Jet will go blab to everyone, though."

-After Confessional-

Kiki was able to catch up to Jet as she got to the double ropes. Kiki REALLY wanted to beat Jet, so she was pushing her body to the fullest. Eventually, she was able to catch up to Jet and got to the sidel pillar first. But then Jet decided to work even harder, and when he got to the sidle pillar he was really trying to rush things. Eventually the two were neck and neck. But as they got to the rope ladders, Jet was pulling away. Kiki already knew one thing about Jet: he was a cracker-jack climber.

"I can climb faster than you!" Jet yelled to Kiki.

"I won't give up!" Kiki yelled.

But no matter how hard she climbed, Jet was just faster than her. Jet was bounding from ladder to ladder until he eventually got to the top of the last one. Then there was a long walkway to a door. Jet hopped right up to the door and went inside.

"No! No no no!" Kiki yelled as she kept climbing. ...Fortunately for her, the challenge wasn't over. There was still one more part.

Jet went inside the door and there was another door, a big slot under the door and a button. Jet pressed the button and the slot opened up to reveal two really light-weight but sturdy two-sided batting poles like the ones on day five.

"Ooh, don't mind if I do," Jet said as he took them both. "...Wait, there's more to the challenge?"

"What do you mean you haven't fixed it yet!" Eventually, a sound erupted near the top of the ship as Kiki was nearing the top. "They're gonna be here any minute! Why are you so useless! Dagger Eyes promised top quality servants! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Down below, Aria was pondering the voice. Something about it seemed... familiar.

"Why is that voice so similar?" Aria asked as she finished getting across the two ropes and was onto the sidel pillar.

Current Standings: Muffy was across the rocking boards and onto the double rope. Grant managed to get past the rope bridge and was working on the rocking boards. Speaking of rocking boards, Wren could not cross the boards easily, and was sent downward. Dustin was on the rope bridge and Drenig... still on the narrow bridge.

Meanwhile, Percy was starting to feel more ashamed than scared. That's when he had an epiphany.

"No! I'm better than this!" Percy yelled. "I don't care if I lose, I have to fight my fears! YAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Percy then charged into a tunnel and started trudging through it. At the rate he was going, you wouldn't believe he was even scared.

Back at the top, Kiki made it to the same kind of door. She pushed the button, and she got one baton pole, it was heavier than Jet's but still strong and easy to use.

"Why won't this door open?" Kiki asked.

"Attention contestants!" Pandora resumed after his fit. "Since my crew is so useless at fixing stuff, they will fight you instead. In addition, I will be fighting you as well in a special floating chair that shoots freezing beems that Dagger Eyes had built. Dagger Eyes is so cool. I'd like to see the loser who reaches me first.

"That will be me," Jet blurted out.

"...Yeah right," Kiki blurted back.

"To be fair, you will each receive weapons depending on how long it takes you to get here," Pandora said. "Since Jet got here first, he gets the best weapons."

"Ha! Only the best for the best," Jet said.

"Kiki gets a fairly good weapon," Pandora said. "And Aria who just got here gets..."

Aria did take a while to get to the top, but she was making progress the whole time. Eventually, she got to her door and pressed the button on the door to receive...

"A hula-hoop?" Aria asked.

"Actually a baton in the shape of a ring," Pandora said. "Two small handles on each side, padding, pretty light weight, but a bit difficult to use. However it will come in handy at the final hour."

"Right, I guess I'll make due," Aria said.

"And for anyone else to come here they will get worse weapons," Pandora said. "See you at the top. Bye now."

Finally, the doors opened and they were each confronted with a hall of Ursaring, each carrying batons. At the end of the hall was a ladder. The walls were made of glass so you could tell where everyone was. Everyone knew the drill by now.

"It's on, Jet!" Kiki said.

"Time to show them why I'm the best," Jet said confidently.

As Kiki and Jet rushed in, they charged with batons ablaze. Jet preferred to use his speed and athleticism to his advantage, while Kiki fought with raw power. Both were taking the Ursaring out one by one. Aria, on the other hand, wasn't faring as well. She had no idea how to use her ring, and the Ursarang were easily able to deflect her shots most of the time.

"Guess I can't be predictable with it," Aria said before swinging the ring at the Ursaring's legs. The ursaring didn't see that coming, and fell over. That gave Aria an idea, if she could trick the Ursaring, she might have a shot. So she tried that strategy and it was working. ...But not as fast as the other two.

Would it be Kiki or Jet that would win? Or Aria? Or even an underdog?

Back at the last course, Muffy was climbing her way up the rope ladders, Grant was scooching along the sidle pillar, Dustin was having luck with the double ropes, Wren got himself caught in the net again, Drenig FINALLY got past the narrow board, but fell on the zig-zags, and Percy finally caught up on the jungle gym.

"Oh come on," Percy said as he looked down. He saw the net, but he saw a long way down as well, even into the hunting grounds. "I've made it this far, I can't stop now."

...Unfortunately, Percy's balance was a mere step up from Wren's. If you're as heavy as Percy, you need to find a way to distribute your weight easily.

Kiki and Jet got to the ladder at about the same time, but higher up was just another hall with Ursaring. That's when Kiki had a plan to throw Jet off. The windows were close enough that Kiki might be able to startle Jet. An Ursaring charged at her and Kiki swept it's leg then threw the Ursaring into the window near Jet's position. Sure enough, the impact rattled Jet, and an Ursaring he was fighting caught him off guard, giving Kiki a chance to take the lead.

Muffy got to the door of the next part, and when she pressed the button she was given a single padded sword baton. Not as much flexibility as the other weapons, but at least it would be easy enough to use. She was ready to take on the Ursaring.

Meanwhile, Pandora got to see all the action on camera. There were nine screens, each with a contestant on them. There were tiny cameras EVERYWHERE on the ship that could catch all the action. Pandora was drinking tea through a straw at the time, as to not reveal his face.

"These contestants are fun to watch," Pandora said. "When I take over the show, that's if I plan to and I might at this rate if it keeps being fun to watch, I'm going to make every episode all about action. No story, just pure action."

Pandora was accompanied by an Ursaring. He seemed to want to object.

"I don't know, that might get kind of boring," he said.

"No way! No one watches TV for story," he said.

"I do, I like to get wrapped up in a story," the Ursaring responded.

"Oh bully on you then," Pandora mentioned. ...Right before complaining again. "What does THAT even mean? Ugh, Dagger Eyes has some cool stuff and Pokemon to play with, but he uses such dumb lines. Come on Dagger Eyes, let me talk normally!"

"Uhh, Pandora," the Ursaring started. "What about Bert?"

"What about him, he should be dead," Pandora assumed.

...But was it so. Far far away from the ship, you could see the ocean. Eventually, two seaweed covered creatures stacked on top of each other were emerging from the water. There was a soaked Bibarel on the bottom and a fainted Vigoroth on top. It was Bertram and Wyler. Eventually, Bertram put Wyler on the beach and started to pump his stomach. He then took a deep breath and breathed into Wyler's mouth. Bertram was using CPR to help his friend who could not swim like he could. Eventually, before the third breath, Wyler woke up.

"...Woah. Where am I?" Wyler asked.

"We're at the far end of Quarantine," Bertram said. "But not for long, we have to get back and save our contestants. Plus, that kid's going to pay for ruining my expensive clothing. Do you know how much money it cost to get custom-made ruby-tipped sandals in my size?"

"Uhhhh... no," Wyler confirmed.

"Let's just say... a lot," Bertram said.

"Now that I think of it, your paws are kind of big," Wyler said. Bertram immediately gave an unamused stare at Wyler before taking a glove out of his jacket and slapping Wyler across the face with it. "Oww, what was that for," Wyler questioned.

"I didn't feel comfortable with that last comment you made," Bertram said. "Anyway, we have to stop Pandora. But first, I want to pay a certain bat a visit."

"Why do we need to seek a bat out?" Wyler asked.

"Let's just say shortly after his introduction, Varmy has a major qualm with him," Bertram said. "Now let's go!"

"Right... coming," Wyler responded wearily.

After trudging through hoards of Ursaring, Kiki made it to Pandora's chamber. Pandora caught her on a camera positioned outside his section, as there was a small room with a ladder leading up to it right before the master chamber.

"Stand aside, Minion," Pandora said as he pushed a button on his chair and his chair started to float.

As Kiki got into the room, she wasted no time getting ready. After all, she was quite determined to beat him.

"Stand down Pandora!" Kiki shouted. "This is not your show to run or Dagger Eyes!"

"Nope! It's mine!" Just then, Jet appeared on the scene.

Everyone could hear the confrontation at top, no matter where they were. Both Aria and Muffy were seriously trying to claw their way to the top, and when they heard they were behind, but the others weren't giving up either.

"Ha! I aint going down without a fight," Pandora said. "You'll have to hit my chair and dodge my lasers to stand a chance."

"Sounds fair to me!" Jet said confidently.

It was then that Pandora rose above the floor. That's when he started shooting lasers at the contestants. Both Kiki and Jet were dodging those lasers pretty well. Kiki then stopped to throw her baton at Pandora, but she missed. In addition, Pandora shot her with a laser, that caused Kiki to freeze up immediately.

"Ha! Time out for you!" Pandora taunted before turning to Jet.

Jet threw one of his batons at Pandora, but he missed too. Pandora shot more lasers out at Jet as well. But Jet was quicker on his feet than Kiki, and continued to dodge. Meanwhile, Aria came onto the scene and wasted no time trying to attack. She swung her ring and threw it out at Pandora, unfortunately she missed as well. Pandora turned around and froze Aria right on spot.

"Come on! You guys made it this far in the competition, I expect better from you!" Pandora shouted.

Muffy eventually arrived on the scene too, but he was kind of scared to do anything, and her weapon wouldn't be good for throwing.

"Uhhh, guys?" Muffy asked as she watched Jet run around. Muffy just looked at Pandora and took a chance she swung her baton around, but unfortunately it was another miss for her as well. But Muffy was smarter and decided to run from the lasers instead of stand around and wait for Pandora to fire at her.

Meanwhile, Kiki broke free from her icy prison. The freeze ray only worked temporarily and gave Kiki time to think. And her instinct right now: Grab Aria's weapon.

"That ring!" Kiki blurted out. ...Unfortunately Jet saw it too.

"It's perfect!" Jet shouted.

The two scrambled for Aria's ring baton, hoping to grab a hold of it first. Kiki dashed toward ith all her might, and Jet hopped as fast as he could. But eventually, one of them got the ring.

...

...

...

And unfortunately it was Jet.

"Ha! I win Kiki!" Jet yelled as he swung that ring around and flung it at Pandora's chair. One direct hit and his chair started to malfunction.

"No! Argh! Why didn't I antici..." Pudge started. "Screw that! Why didn't I see this coming!"

**-Opening Pandora's Box-**

Pandora's chair crashed to the floor and Pandora tumbled along the metal floor. As he did, it looked like some of his body came apart. First his arms broke off, then his legs, and then he seemed to have fallen out of his body. To finally add to all of it, the bandana Pandora was wearing fell of as well. Now it was clear, Pandora wasn't a Pangoro at all.

"No way!" Aria shouted after she thawed out. "Yet I can't really say I'm surprised. Your whiney attitude gave it away."

"Eh, who's this creep again?" Jet asked.

"I don't know," Muffy said.

Eventually, the other contestants were coming into the room. A while ago after the chair crashed, bridges were put out through the entire jungle gym course coming out the ship and riding along the course, giving the others and easier way to catch up for the ceremony. In addition, all the halls were cleared of Ursaring. Everyone joined the group, even Percy.

"I guess the challenge is over," Wren said. "Who won?"

"Wait, hold on! I recognize him!" Drenig shouted.

"Thy as well," Dustin said.

"You're right!" Wren said. "But I don't remember his name."

"I remember exactly who he is," Aria said. "How could I forget the time he cost us an important challenge."

"And this whole time he must have been stewing over the fact we kicked him off our team," Kiki said.

"Wait, that little twerp WAS on your team wasn't he?" Grant asked.

"I had forgotten all about him," Percy said.

"I... I... I want my mommy," the small former contestant said. There was no mistaking him, it was Pudge. Pudge was one of Team Zap-Dos former contestants. He was also the first to get booted off their team. "You evil worthless punks! This was supposed to be fun for me, and you ruined my enjoyment!"

"Maybe you should have thought more carefully!" Drenig shouted.

"You guys didn't even paint a picture of me," Pudge whined. "It's like you wanted to forget me right after you kicked me off! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Ugh! You worthless scoundrel!" Just then, another figure popped into the room. Varmy had come around to chew Pudge's ear off. "Bertram said you'd be here, now where's my Big Root!"

"Wait, what is he doing here?" Muffy asked.

"I invited him." Finally, two more figures came into the room. Bertram and Wyler seemed very angry right now. "So you went to the dark side to get revenge on Quarantine," Bertram said.

"Uhhh... thanks for letting me stay on the show Bertram," Pudge said.

"Shhhhhh, don't break the fourth wall," Bertram whispered to Pudge. "As punishment, you are FOREVER banished from Quarantine: this season and any future seasons."

"No! Pudge wanna stay on the show!" Pudge cried.

"Varmy! Wyler! Take him away!" Bertram called.

As Wyler grabbed a hold of Pudge, Pudge was whining the entire time. The brat king's cry could be heard throughout the ship even as Wyler and Varmy were leaving.

"As for any Ursaring in the area," Bertram said. "I want this ship gone by nightfall! I also want the invisible barriers deactivated! Do I make myself clear?"

There was an Ursaring still in the room through the whole ordeal. He immediately pledged loyalty to Bertram. After all, this was a show, it didn't need to make perfect sense.

"Yes Mr. Bertram," the Ursaring said. "By the way, the floor your standing on is an elevator that will take you to the bottom of the ship. Everyone should stand in a circle, and I'll lower you all down with this button.

"Well, that pleases me greatly," Bertram said. "Okay cast, gather round."

Everyone huddled up around a circle on the floor. Eventually an Ursaring lowered the entire cast all the way down to the bottom.

Eventually everyone returned to the bunkers where the contestants, Bertram, Wyler, Varmy and Pudge all watched Pandora's ship blast off and fly away. No one knew who the pilot was, but he seemed experienced enough. But eventually, matters came into hands.

"Thank you Varmy and Wyler, you may return to your duties," Bertram said.

"Thank you Bertram," Wyler said as he handed a worn-out Pudge to Bertram and walked off past the hunting grounds. Pudge cried too much and now he was tired.

"Argh, I'm getting too old for this," Varmy responded as he made his own exit.

"As for the ceremony," Bertram began. "There will be TWO eliminations: This little brat and one of you. Remember, Jet won the challenge so he is immune."

"How did you know?" Aria asked.

"One of the Ursaring told me as I was climbing up the ship," Bertram excused.

"And how did you get there so fast?" Aria asked.

"I was always at the bottom, I just god there around the time you guys were on the second part of the challenge," Bertram answered. "Get your supper in and proceed to the Exile Chamber."

Bertram than walked off with Pudge in hand up the stairs that were set out sandwiching the doors of Quarantine. That left the contestants to figure out who they would vote for today.

During supper, they were talking about it. Jet felt like rubbing it in everyone's face the fact he won.

"I know who's NOT going home today," Jet exclaimed. "The Jet-Frog! That's who!"

"Next time Jet," Percy said. "But this time I think I know who I do want out," Percy said.

"Ay man, who do you think we should vote off?" Drenig asked. "Because... I got nothing. I don't want to vote anyone off."

"None of us do," Aria said. "But we gotta do something. And we can't vote off Jet, unfortunately."

"Muffy doesn't want to make a vote," Muffy said.

"It's tough to decide," Kiki said. "Sometimes we have to think hard about who we want gone."

"I think we should send Grant home," Jet said.

"NO! Grant's a nice guy," Muffy said.

"What? Why thank you Muffy, I am flattered," Grant said.

"He may seem kind of... strange," Muffy said. "But once you get to know him... he's actually not that bad."

"She does have a point," Grant said. "Maybe it's about time I start getting to know the others and stop hiding behind my evil moniker. After all, the way to stay in the game is to make friends and not enemies. Maybe I've been fooling around for too long, but I came because, truly, I actually wanted to make friends. But I was too busy acting all dark and evil I forgot. Please, don't listen to Jet. Give me another chance."

"Hmmm..." Kiki started to ponder.

-Confessional Session(Percy)-

"Eh, he wasn't going to be my vote anyway," Percy stated.

-Confessional Session(Dustin)-

"Thy STILL does not trust Aria," Dustin said.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I've kind of wanted him gone for a while," Kiki said.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Oh I don't want to choose," Wren said. "The only unlikeable person there is Jet and he's immune." Wren let out a sigh and then proceeded to finish his thought. "But I guess if no one else. ...Sorry Drenig."

-After Confessional-

Everyone met Bertram back at the Quarantine chamber. The ship was gone, as was Pudge. As Bertram handed the milk out, he started discussing tonight's ceremony.

"Now that the brat's gone, it's back to normal Quarantine," Bertram said. "I can tell this was a hard vote for some. The votes are all over the place, but one name got more votes than the others."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"I hope that little quip I performed just recently helps," Grant said. "I still got so many unfinished plans that need to be finished."

-After Confessional-

Grant was sitting right next to Muffy, while Wren and Aria were on the other side. Jet sat by himself away from the group while Percy sat between Aria and Kiki. Drenig and Dustin were also sitting next to each other.

"Today the one's who are safe are..." Bertram began. "Jet, obviously. Followed by...

...Kiki...

...Wren...

...Muffy...

...Drenig...

...Percy...

...and Aria."

That caused Grant to start hugging Muffy. He was acting scared.

"I don't want to go home yet," he said to Muffy in a childish scared voice.

Dustin was also worried. His name had not been said yet.

"Oh deer, has thee slain his last?" Dustin asked Drenig, who was patting Dustin on the back.

"Finally, the final Pokemon staying today," Bertram started. "That would be...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Grant."

"Huh! ...Thank you," Grant said. "Thank you Bertram."

Drenig shook his head. He knew his friend was going home, but he also knew one of them would go home eventually.

"Ay man, that sucks," Drenig said to him.

"Thy fear not," Dustin said. "After all, you know we couldn't both win the grand prize. One of us had to go sooner or later. But I had fun here in Quarantine. ...Maybe I should have been a bit more... social? I feel like I didn't make enough friends. I was too busy having fun."

"It's okay Dustin, you don't have to feel too bad," Drenig said. "You did good making it this far."

"Thanks Drenig," Dustin said as he got up. He pulled his L.A.R. P. ing sword from behind the bench he was sitting on and headed towards the chamber.

"Sorry you have to go," Bertram said. "But you were kind of right in that you were the contestant most least identified with. ...That, and Percy was kind of insulted by you mocking him earlier."

"Sorry Percy," Dustin said as Bertram was opening the chamber behind him.

"I... It's not too big," Percy said. "Apology accepted."

Dustin went into the chamber without escort. He then turned around and rose his hand to his forehead in salute.

"Good luck Drenig!" Dustin shouted. "Thy shall be cheering you on from the sidelines."

The usual happened. The smoke enveloped him and after a while he was gone. Bertram said his final words before the ceremony was over.

"He was kind of a weird kid," Bertram said. "But hey, at least he wasn't like that weirdo kid who actually thought he was a wizard."

"Who?" the contestants asked in unison.

"Never-mind, you would not understand, back to the Mol-Tres bunker please," Bertram finished.

Bertram waved to the contestants as they head back. Now was the time for the usual closure.

"Another one bites the green smoky dust," he said. "But with the contestants disappearing, it only gets more and more intense. And those who worked so far to get here will be crushed when they find out their friends have turned on them. Tune in tomorrow for another episode. Until then, we say goodbye for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Okay... you expect us to build a flying suit?"_

_A giant smoke machine appears over Quarantine._

_"We are all DOOMED if we don't destroy it."_

_Contestants must build machines that will fly them to te fog machine._

_"Awww, Drenig's gonna be good at this one."_

_No bad-guys to fight this time, just a machine to shut off._

_"I guess there's more to this story."_

_But in the end, one more contestant will know failure as they are eliminated._

_"I cannot stand being around you any longer!"_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Soar Losers._


	12. Chapter 12: Soar Losers

Episode 12: Soar Losers

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"What would Lilly want me to do. What would Yoshi want me to do?"_

_Contestants were confronted first thing in the morning by a take-over from Dagger-Eyes faithful Pu... *ahem* Pandora._

_"This time Pandora wants to make sure he gets rid of everyone involved!"_

_Competitors had to traverse an invisible maze..._

_"You guys STILL haven't found the entrance to EITHER past bunker?"_

_...an elevator challenge..._

_"My elevator's not going up."_

_...a tube maze..._

_"What are those holes? I don't have to go through them, do I?"_

_...a jungle gym..._

_"...Okay, that was my bad."_

_...and some guards all before fighting Pu... *ahem* Pandora._

_"I remember exactly who he is. How could I forget the time he cost us an important challenge?"_

_Meanwhile, a touchy relationship was brewing._

_"Ummm, thank you."_

_"Ay, uhhh, that didn't mean anything."_

_At the elimination ceremony, with no one better to vote for, the contestants choose to boot off L.A.R. P. er Dustin._

_"One of us had to go sooner or later. But I had fun here in Quarantine."_

_I wish this show didn't have to end. It's a shame we only have eight contestants and seven episodes to go. Who will be the next to not win?_

**-Rivalry En Fuego-**

Deep in the heard of the Quarantine grounds, a sinister meeting was taking place. Dagger Eyes had just lost his third general, only now having just two left. Gola the Dragonite was one of his most powerful and trusted allies. He had fire, strength, and was the only general successful in taking out one of the members. Medulla was the brains behind everything. Medulla did what he could to not anger his master by trying his hardest to create new inventions to take over the world with. And right now, they were discussing important matters.

You could see a camera shift between Dagger Eyes' dark image and glowing blue eyes and Medulla and Gola. Dagger Eyes identity was remaining a secret.

"I knew that worthless whiny tyke wouldn't be useful!" Dagger Eyes yelled.

"Why didn't you just ask me to do what he did?" Gola asked. "I could have wiped them out easily!"

"If you keep telling yourself that, you're going to let your guard down," Medulla stated.

"NO ONE ASKED YOUR OPINION!" Gola erupted.

"Ugh! BOTH of you are just as useless!" Dagger Eyes yelled. "You should realize that I will NOT tolerate failure any longer! Many more screw-ups, and the both of you will suffer the consequences! Do I need to remind you the power behind my deadly gaze of explosions?"

"You know, the most useless henchmen is a dead one," Medulla mentioned. "You cannot just off your henchmen because you're frustrated."

"Then we better stop screwing up!" Gola shouted.

"This time we hopefully won't need to screw up," Dagger Eyes said. "We're gonna wipe them out! Bring out the deadly gas machine! We will gas them all like a pack of Electrikes poisoned for population control!"

"...Actually, "population control" is often used as an excuse to..." Medulla started.

"SILENCE!" Dagger Eyes said.

"No! I'm not going to!" Medulla shouted. "You're forgetting that we cannot run that machine forever. It's going to run out, and then the contestants will find a way to counter when it's down."

"I SAID..." Dagger Eyes yelled. ...But eventually he stopped to listen. "Actually... continue."

"Might I suggest instead of a rechargeable source, we use labor to keep it running," Medulla said. "And that way it can stay on for as long as we desire. Our henchmen each have shifts to help energize them to keep it running for as long as possible."

"Hmmmm..." Dagger Eyes though. "For once you have provided an idea that does not smell. And for that you will live for another day. ...Keep those ideas up and Quarantine will be ours in no time. MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

...But one thing Dagger Eyes forgot was that Bertram had all of Quarantine bugged and wired. There was no where there wasn't cameras. Even the room Dagger Eyes calls his throne was just a large cave in the underground sections that used to be an underground dining hall, he didn't actually build it himself.

"Oh... no... you... don't," Bertram said to himself as he watched the camera. The camera he had only showed Medulla and Gola, so Dagger Eyes could still obscure himself from view. But Bertram still knew his plans and would not go down without a fight.

Eventually, morning came in the bunkers. Everyone slept well for the most part, and everyone was just waking up from their nap. Kiki was sleeping in her judo outfit when she awoke. As she stretched her arms out to let out a yawn, Drenig came behind her to say good morning.

"Morning Kiki," Drenig said.

"Oh, morning Drenig," Kiki replied back. "You seem cheerful enough. Not sad your friend left?"

"Nah, one of us was bound to go sooner or later," Drenig said. "You have anything on your mind?"

"Well..." Kiki stuttered for a bit before thinking about something. "You're not coming onto me, are you?"

"Ay what!?" Drenig shouted. "No, I was just asking a question. I asked if anything was on your mind."

"No, nothing is," Kiki replied.

"Hold the phone, I sense something's up." Eventually, Jet came from behind and interrupted the two. "Why the hostility?"

"No reason, I was just startled, that's all," Kiki said.

"They're worried because Bertram said they were compatible," Aria blurted out, just awaking from her bed.

"ARIA!" Kiki and Drenig shouted in unison.

"So THAT'S what this is about?" Jet asked. "Bertram said you two were compatible?"

"Look, it's none of your concern man!" Drenig said.

"You two are dooming yourselves," Jet said. "You're working yourselves up over compatibility. Bertram said nothing about wanting you two to ACTUALLY pair up with each other."

"We are not Jet," Kiki said.

"Hey, what happened to being more humble and supportive?" Percy asked.

"Hey, if you have to be reminded constantly, then it's not worth doing," Jet said. "Besides, I'm not here to be anyone's buddy, I'm here to win."

"Don't you have a better chance of winning if you actually make buddies?" Wren asked.

"Pfft! That wasn't in any rulebook I've ever read," Jet said.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Aside from being a running track star, I'm also the MVP on my baseball team," Jet said. "Me and the rest of the team work on ourselves, we hit our OWN home runs and steal our own bases. Nothing in the rules about being someone's buddy, cause that aint important. All that's important is getting the homers and stealing the white plates."

-After Confessional-

"I just think you're incapable of being pleasant," Aria said.

"Ha! I get it, you're all jealous of me," Jet said. "You know I'm a threat, so you hate me. You think being a goody two-shoes is all there is to life? Ha! I'd like to see the power of friendship help you one on one!"

"Don't you take ANY responsibility for your actions?" Percy asked.

"Oh I'm sorry Percy," Jet said. "I am not sure you notice, but is this room a bit small? Like it's caving in? In fact, I don't think the room is shrinking, you are growing. ...More and more pathetic."

"What did you say!?" Percy yelled.

"Oh please! The mighty Percy cowers in fear before the terrible harmless tubes," Jet said.

"We all have fears! You do too!" Percy yelled.

"Waaaaaah! Percy scared! Percy dun wanna go in scary tunnel," Jet mocked. "When I get home after I win, I'm going to re-watch all your scenes in those tubes, and then I'm gonna laugh and laugh some more before I show it to all my friends and it goes VIRAL!"

"You wouldn't dare you worthless piece of..." Percy growled.

"Ha! No one's going to take you seriously anymore!" Jet shouted. "One day you will realize that I am BETTER THAN YOU!"

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!**" Percy then went completely berserk. He unlatched his tail from his waist and clutched onto Jet, he started to strangle the life out of him.

"Yeah! Beat that worthless bully up!" Muffy cheered.

"He he he, the frog's getting what's coming to him," Grant mentioned.

"Percy, no!" Wren shouted. "He's not worth that, let him go!"

"Hrrrrrrrrrmmmmmm," Percy growled before flicking his tail and sending Jet into the wall of the bunker.

"I know I should not have done that but it felt good anyway," Percy said. Jet didn't seem to be hurt, but hopefully he'd be more wise in his words.

"Anyway, now that we're all up, should me and Wren go in the kitchen and make breakfast?" Aria asked. "Hey Muffy, would you like to come with?"

"Sure, that would be nice," Muffy said with a smile.

"What about me?" Grant asked.

"Well... I guess there's no harm in it," Aria said. "However I'll keep my eye on you."

Before Aria could even touch the door, Bertram and some of his workers barged in holding some haz-mat suits. It was already beginning.

"Put these on now!" Bertram shouted.

"Wait what's going..." Kiki started.

"Don't ask questions! Just put them on!" Bertram yelled.

It was a struggle, but eventually they were able to put their suits on. There was one for each contestant.

"Okay, so why are we wearing these?" Jet asked.

"Huh, our voices still sound normal," Drenig mentioned. "Usually suits like these muffle our voices.

"There are speakers in each suit which convert our speech to a more audible tone," Bertram said. "NOW, you are probably wondering why you are wearing these. Turns out a little bug told me that Dagger Eyes is planning to either poison us or keep us in bunkers till we starve. Fortunately, the whole island is bugged. There is nowhere they can go on, above, OR below the island where I cannot see or hear them. That will thwart their little plan. Now, you will probably want breakfast. Head to the kitchen and prepare. You may take your suits off in the kitchen, but you must put them back on before you leave. Remember this."

"...Right, the all-powerful Bertram knows all," Aria said. "I'm beginning to wonder the competency of Dagger-Eyes."

"Aria, enough wise-cracks," Bertram said. "Well, get your breakfast, and hurry. After that I have many matters to attend to involving Quarantine."

"Then I guess it's time to make breakfast?" Grant asked. "I'm ready to start my duties as good guy Grant."

"Umm... okay," Aria said as she started outside. "To make things easier, we should all go in the kitchen together."

"Sounds like a plan," Wren said.

Everyone followed Aria to the kitchen. Jet was holding onto his head the whole time, probably because he felt sore after Percy's antics.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Mwahahaha, now's the time I take the first step towards Phase 3," Grant said. "All I have to do is sabotage her enough and they will kick her out. ...But where do I start? In the kitchen, of course."

-After Confessional-

In the kitchen, Aria was giving commands for making a breakfast pie with ham, eggs and cheese. Aria was in charge of scrambling eggs, Wren was rolling out the dough, Muffy was helping to make some creamy cheese sauce, and Grant was cooking the ham. Grant didn't seem... perfectly comfortable with it.

"Isn't this kind of in poor taste?" Grant asked.

"Well, it's primitive-Emboar and not Grumpig," Aria stated. "So I am not really sure."

"Meh, I guess it's not a big deal," Grant accepted as he was tenderizing the meat.

"Wren, how's the dough coming?" Aria asked.

"Is it alright if I cut slits into the top part?" Wren asked.

"Why of course it is," Aria stated. "And Muffy, don't forget to add some White Herb spice. It adds some energy to the cheese and the pie."

"Okay, I'm on it," Muffy said. "When should I do that?"

"When the cheese hits peak temperature," Aria responded.

Grant heard that and immediately ran over to the spice rack. He saw a bottle of White Herb spice on the shelf and opened the bottle up. Like most spice bottles, there was a piece on top that controlled the sprinkling. Grant unscrewed the top just enough that it would appear like it was screwed on, but when you tip it over the whole thing would dump out. Afterwards, Grant went back to his station and put the ham in the oven.

Meanwhile, Drenig, Kiki, Percy and Jet were in the corner playing Gamble: Master of the Hoops edition, a game of conquest and war. Drenig was moving his troops over into Jet's territory.

"I declare war with thee," Drenig said. "Man, Dustin would have loved this game."

"Alright, give me everything you've got," Jet said as he rolled two pairs of dice and ended up with the number ten. Drenig rolled his die and only got seven. "Ha! Conquest failed. Better luck next time."

"Here, my turn!" Percy said as he moved some of his pieces onto Jet's territory.

Jet rolled his die again and ended up with nine. Percy then rolled his and got a pair of box-cars. Percy's troops then swarmed into Jet's territory, and Percy seemed a bit confident afterwards.

"Well? Let's see the fireworks," Percy said.

"Oh yeah, there will be fireworks alright," Jet said as he tried to exact revenge on Percy.

He moved his pieces to Percy's new piece of territory and attacked. Percy rolled a five, and then Jet... rolled only a three.

"WHAT!? These dice are loaded!" Jet cried. "You're CHEATING!"

"You just got unlucky," Kiki said as it was her turn. She decided to mover her troops into Percy's territory. "Sorry Percy, I'm kind of giving Jet the mercy rule."

"No problem, I suppose it's not fair to gang-up on Jet," Percy said.

"Coming from someone who threw me into a wall!" Jet yelled.

"You know you were asking for it, right man?" Drenig asked.

Over in the cooking area, it was time for Muffy to add the herbs. Muffy went over to the spice shelf and grabbed the bottle of White Herbs. After taking it over to the pot of cheese, she opened up the bottle and tried to sprinkle some White Herbs into the cheese. ...Unfortunately, the loose filter came off and the herbs all spilled into the cheese. Muffy started to get frantic.

"Oh no! What do I do? What do I do?" Muffy shouted.

"What's wrong, friend?" Grant asked.

"I spilled all the herbs in the cheese," Muffy said. "I don't want to make another pot."

"Just scoop the herbs out," Grant said. "Or would you like me to do that?"

"Could you?" Muffy asked. "I need some time to cool off."

"Okay friend," Grant said as he looked into the pot. He grasped a ladle in the pot and scooped the filter out of the cheese. Afterward, he started to stir it in more so that it would be near impossible to scoop out. Still, he took a few ladels of the cheese and dumped it into the garbage to make it look like he was actually helping.

"I did what I could Muffy," Grant said. "Hopefully it's enough."

"Thanks Grant!" Muffy said as she was near the door looking out. That's when she saw it: the smoke. "THE MIST IS COMING AGAIN!"

"...Duh," Kiki blurted out.

"Bertram already kind of warned us about it," Drenig added.

"Oh yeah, he did didn't he?" Muffy asked.

Eventually, Aria was ready to assemble to pie. She had to make sure everyone did their part first.

"Is the ham ready?" Aria asked.

"All done... I think," Grant said as he finished chopping the ham up in cubes.

"Is the cheese ready?" Aria continued.

"All done," Muffy said.

"And the pie crust?" Aria finished.

"What do you think of this?" Wren asked.

"Splendid," Aria said with a smile. "Now we just have to assemble it and bake it for thirty minutes, it should be all done by then."

After a time skip, Aria was ready to serve the pie. She cut eight pieces and put a slice on a plate for everyone.

"And so, with a heart filled with love and the diligence of a busy Bertram, we have made this delicious breakfast pie," Aria said with a smile.

"Enjoy!" Aria, Wren, Muffy and Grant all exclaimed at once.

Percy was the first to take a bite of his. As Percy bit into his, Kiki bit into hers. Drenig and Jet were not eating so quickly. Drenig opened his pie slice up and started picking out all the chunks of ham from his slice and Jet was probably worried about his figure.

"Don't be shy Jet, it's good and it's not unhealthy," Wren said.

"Okay," Jet said as he took his fork and cut out a bite. But as he chewed, he spit it back out with a disgusted look. "Blech! What kind of poison was that!?"

"Hate to be mean, but for once I agree with Jet," Kiki said. "This tastes overpoweringly herby."

"Yeah, I agree. There's way too much seasoning to the point it's inedible," Percy stated.

"Anyone want my ham chunks?" Drenig asked.

"Well, I never!" Aria shouted. "You have no taste buds!"

Eventually Aria took a bite of the pie. ...But her reaction was no different.

"Blargh! What happened?" Aria asked.

"I... I dumped all the White Herb in on accident," Muffy said.

"You WHAT!?" Aria cried.

"I'm sorry, the filter came loose and I wasn't expecting it," Muffy said.

Grant was next to Muffy, also eating a slice of pie. Grant seemed to be enjoying it, but he was probably pretending.

"Mmmm, this is tasty," Grant said.

"Grant, are you sure you got all the herb out?" Muffy asked.

"Not one hundred percent, but I'm pretty sure," Grant said.

"It must not have been enough," Muffy said. "I... I am sorry guys."

"I like your pie Muffy," Grant said.

"You're just saying that," Muffy said.

"No, I'm taking another bite, see?" Grant said as he stuffed another piece of pie into his mouth and swallowed it. There were tears in his eyes as if it was painful for him to be eating it. "Yum! He he he he..."

**-Mist Opportunity-**

After the pie incident, Bertram appeared on the screen. He was still wearing the suit.

"Okay, have we all eaten breakfast yet?" Bertram asked.

"Can we get a do-over?" Jet asked.

"Yeah, fifteen more minutes?" Drenig asked.

"Oh fine, but hurry up we have a peninsula to save," Bertram said before logging off.

"Well... I don't know about you guys, but it's still food," Wren said. "Hey Drenig, I'll take those ham chunks."

After a few minutes, everyone made something else and were all full. Bertram popped back on the screen and got to business.

"Okay, fifteen minutes is up," Bertram said. "Are we ready NOW!?"

"All full," Grant said.

"Good to go," Kiki added.

"Good, now we split into teams of two," Bertram stated.

"What for?" Muffy asked.

"We have to search the island for a fog machine that is creating the deadly mist," Bertram said. "It's easier to do it in pairs, and destroying it is vital. We are all DOOMED if we don't destroy it!. Now... Savil lent me her tarot cards with the cast on them. Let me shuffle these cards and..."

Bert started to shuffle eight cards around and then eventually lied them in pairs. He flipped the first card which had Kiki on it.

"Let us see, Kiki shall be paired with..." Bertram said as he flipped the next card over. "Oh, how about that: Drenig."

Kiki and Drenig looked at each other. They both started to scratch their heads in embarrassment.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Bert's doing that on purpose!" Kiki shouted. "It's like he WANTS a relationship between me and that overgrown Furry Die-Gon reject probably for ratings or something. Hmmmm, I suppose Drenig is a pretty nice dude, but I'm still annoyed by all the fate temptation."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Ay, Kiki is a nice girl and all," Drenig stated. "But me in a relationship with her? And to have the show constantly pair us up as if it's trying to make it happen? ...Maybe I should try it."

-After Confessional-

"The next pair will be..." Bertram was flipping over the next card. "Jet and..."

"Please don't be me," Percy said before crossing his fingers.

"...Grant," Bert finished. Percy let out a sigh of relief.

"Ahh, thank heavens," Percy said. "Paired with the one person who can probably tolerate him."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Me? On the same team as Jet?" Grant questioned. "Here... comes... the doom. ...Wiping off an old Chesto berry."

-After Confessional-

"Right, after that we have..." Bertram started before he flipped over two more cards. "Percy and Wren on a team."

"That sounds okay," Percy said. "After all, I did want to bond with Wren for a bit."

"He did," Wren mentioned. "And I guess it's a good opportunity to make new friends."

"Speaking of which, that means me and Muffy are a team by default," Aria said.

"Ummm... yay..." Muffy said.

"What's wrong?" Aria asked.

"I... still don't trust you that much," Muffy admitted.

"As quickly as you warmed up to that evil kid, I don't see why I'm any different," Aria asked.

"Well, you're a Malamar," Grant mentioned. "One of the most evil creatures on the planet."

"Okay, I have had it with the Malamar stereotypes," Aria scoffed. "I can be a good person regardless of species."

"Course she can be," Wren said. "She may not be perfect, but then again none of us are."

"Except you, goody two-shoes!" Jet shouted.

"..." Wren said nothing.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"Trust me, I am not perfect," Wren said. "I remember the time I tried to go camping in the back yard. I almost burnt my home down trying to make a campfire. Plus, being a quadruped means I'm handicapped at events that don't involve running in a straight line, in which case I can do that no problem. Yeah, Percy belongs to a species that is naturally quadrupedal, but they can at least adapt. It's kind of hard to be a biped when you have short chubby legs and really big... No, if I remind everyone that, I can just imagine all the Wren tickle-torture pictures. Ooh, now that I brought it up they're going to happen anyway. Why are there such crazy people out there?"

Wren started to shiver in fear. Obviously he had thoughts that didn't sit right with him at the moment.

-After Confessional-

"All I'm saying is that you have nothing to worry about Aria, Muffy," Wren said. "I'm sure you can trust her if you trust me."

"Well... she got Lilly kicked off," Muffy said.

"She left on her own account," Kiki mentioned.

"Well... ... Okay," Muffy said. She held her paw out towards Aria, and Aria proceeded to shake her tentacle in her paw.

"...Are we done?" Bertram asked. "Good, now I want each of you to go out, choose one of four paths and search that part of the Island. Whoever finds it earns immunity for their team. For the mighty Team Mol-Tres, we will destroy that fog machine!"

"...That sounds chancy," Percy said.

"There's a catch, right?" Kiki asked. "Cause surely all teams should have an equal chance of finding it."

"I... couldn't tell you," Bertram said. "I don't know where the fog machine is, so it could be anywhere. In a way, you DO all have a chance of finding it."

"Whatever," Aria said before she put her suit back on. Everyone else donned there gear as well.

"And now, we must go out into the wild to find the machine," Bertram said. "You may now begin the journey."

The teams then poured out of door trying to get to the hunting grounds. Outside there were four signs each with a map. Each team got a different map, one lead through a large connection of plantations, one through a ghost town, one through a bunch of caves, and one along a huge old dock.

"He he he, looks like we get the spooky caves Jet," Grant stated.

"Bring it, I aint afraid of any dinky caves," Jet said.

"We got a map that runs through an old ghost town," Wren showed Percy.

"Why haven't we seen this place before?" Percy asked.

"Never had a reason to go that far I guess," Wren stated.

"Okay... ours goes through a plantation," Drenig stated. "...Sounds romantic."

"Yeah, a nice calming plantation that will hopefully have a twist involved," Kiki stated.

"Ooh, our map goes by the ocean," Aria showed Muffy.

"Awww, that's nice," Muffy stated. "I love watching the sea."

"Might give us something to talk about," Aria suggested.

"Except the sea will probably be shrouded in gas," Muffy said.

"Nah, I'm sure we can still see it," Aria said.

Eventually everyone had their map and went on their way to find the fog machine, that was located somewhere on the island. Bertram was in the control room where he could talk to peple through the TV screens planted all over the island. He was watching over the teams as they were leaving when suddenly he heard another bugged message from Dagger Eyes and friends.

"Now that the peninsula is all fogged up, they will all be gone before we know it," Dagger Eyes said.

"What if it's not that easy?" Medulla stated. "What if they have a plan?"

"What could they possibly do at this point?" Dagger Eyes asked.

"Well, they may have suits that protects them from the gas," Medulla stated.

"But do they have flying machines?" Dagger Eyes questioned.

"...No, I don't think so," Medulla stated.

"...Flying machines?" Bertram asked himself as he kept listening.

"Even if they DO have suits, they're wasting their time by searching the island," Dagger Eyes mentioned. "I made a few last-minute changes to the fog machine so that it can operate from above the clouds."

"But what about our workers?" Medulla asked.

"They still take turns," Dagger Eyes. "They fly the machine up there, then workers come up with jet packs to work and refuel the machine on constant watch. Once their shift is over, MORE workers come in on jet packs and they go back down to have their jet packs refueled and so on and so forth. It's too clever, they will NEVER figure it out. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

Bertram just stared dumbfounded into space as he heard that. He just sent the contestants on a wild goose chase.

"Woops," Bertram said to himself. "Guess I'll have to bring them back once they reach their destinations. Plus I'll uhh... I don't have any flying machines. ...I have a junk-heap and some instructions. Maybe the contestants can make their own. Plus, I can always get my birds to save them if they fall. The same ones that saved me when... no wait I don't have suits for them."

Bertram was starting to get nervous. He was trying to figure out how to go about doing this task.

"I can't just let them go up there, they could die. I have to find a safe way to do this. I don't even know where in the sky it is, but if it's reaching the peninsula it can't be that far up. Maybe I should stick with some strong nets. ...But I'm going to need a LOT of net. And as luck would have it... I have lots and lots of net. And I have plenty of my own henchmen to help it get set up fast and quick including Vower, Medulla, Hespute AND Pudge's old henchmen."

Bertram turned around and saw four Pokemon, two huge Hypnos with rippling muscles and two bulky yet buff Drowzees. It was Cort, Crusher, and Cort's sons Bertha and Byron.

"Sure, if you have the suits for us then we will get it done," Cort said.

"We can do most of the heavy lifting," Crusher said.

"I'm sure Gungho and her helpers can help too," Bertha mentioned.

"Why not, we have all the help we may ever need," Byron said, pointing to a big hoard of Pokemon behind them including Vower and Hespute. At this rate, it looked like Dagger Eyes had the lower hand, or would if the contestants could keep up their liberation against Dagger Eye's army.

Meanwhile the contestants were at their destinations. We take a look on Grant and Jet first as they were walking in the cave.

"So... Jet," Grant asked. "Why are you always so arrogant? Is it because you know your good?"

"I and everyone else should know I'm that good," Jet said.

"But won't that arrogance cost you eventually?" Grant asked. "After all, you lose one game, and they're probably going to send you home because of your unlikeable attitude. You know this right?"

"Ha! I'm so good that won't matter," Jet said. "And besides that, everyone wants to win. Even if I was a complete sissy like the rest of those goody-goodies, they would STILL see me as a threat. Ergo, they would vote me off any which way, so why bother being nice."

Grant turned around and started to clap. He also put on an evil smirk for Jet.

"Well said," Grant said. "Come over to the dark side, we could use someone like you."

"Ha! I'm not evil you dummy, and neither are you," Jet said.

"Well, let me put it another way," Grant said. "Why don't I help YOU? I can help you stay in the game for longer?"

"How so?" Jet asked.

"I've been trying to make lots of friends," Grant said. "And Wren has been starting a chain of friendships that all started with Aria. ...I think... He might have had some other friend but I don't know for sure. But then it became Muffy and me, and now I bet Percy has joined the league too, assuming that Wren was talking to him earlier as if he was a friend. It won't be long before Drenig and Kiki join the circle. And that leaves you, you without any partners."

"Can we hurry up?" Jet asked. "The Zubats are starting to swarm."

"But I can vouch for you," Grant said. "I can convince them to not vote you off, then other people will be voted off. Pretty soon, the prize will be yours."

"You really think you can help me?" Jet asked.

"Absolutely blue one," Grant responded.

"Because I don't," Jet said before hopping off.

"You're making a mistake," Grant said. "I can help you."

"I'll help myself!" Jet called out.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Who does Grant think he is?" Jet asked. "It's like he's convinced he's a legitimate villain. Plus, no one fully trusts him except maybe Muffy."

-After Confessional-

With Wren and Percy, Wren was a bit... spooked out by the ghost town. He swore he kept hearing strange voices.

"What was that?" Wren asked.

"What was what?" Percy asked. "Are you sure you're right right now?"

"I swear I heard a voice," Wren said. "I can't tell what I'm hearing."

"It's probably nothing," Percy commented. "So... You've made quite a few friends? What are they like?"

"Well Muffy is a pretty nice girl," Wren said.

"She wasn't always that way," Percy mentioned. "She used to be really mean."

"Huh... Didn't know that," Wren said. "Though Aria is pretty nice too. Grant, he... I... I don't really know what to think about him."

"I wonder if they could help me with Jet," Percy asked.

"You mean kicking him out?" Wren asked. "Probably, but you've probably given him all the pain he deserves this morning."

"No, I think that was being too nice," Percy said.

"Percy... no, revenge shouldn't be taken out that way," Wren said. "You have to put yourself in his shoes. If you were him, how would you want him to treat you? Wouldn't you rather treat him how you wish to be treated?"

"That should go both ways, not just one," Percy said.

"Sometimes life isn't fair," Wren said. ...Suddenly, Wren heard another whisper in the background. "What was that!?"

"I... I heard it that time too," Percy said.

"We should probably go," Wren whimpered as he started to sprint into the distance. Percy ran after him to keep up.

Afterwards, we check up on Aria and Muffy. They were walking along the docks, looking at the waves below them.

"Well... we can still see the water below our feet," Aria said.

"I wish I could scare the gas away," Muffy said.

"Don't we all wish life were easy?" Aria asked. "Alas, not so."

Aria couldn't help but think about Muffy's relationship with Grant. Muffy seemed to trust Grant, but Aria was unsure.

"Why do you trust Grant so much?" Aria asked.

"He just hides behind that evil persona," Muffy said. "He seems to be really nice deep down."

"I dunno, something about him seems odd," Aria said. "Did you notice something about the bottle of herbs you used?"

"The filter came off, so what?" Muffy asked.

"Filters on bottles of spices don't just come off," Aria said. "Someone had to unscrew the bottle for that to happen."

"And you think Grant did that?" Muffy asked.

"Well... I can't be sure," Aria said. "I didn't see him do it, but then again I didn't see anyone do it."

"Then why bring up Gran't name?" Muffy asked.

"Cause he's been pulling that evil schtick for a while and..." Aria stuttered for a moment. "I just don't know. Maybe I'm being paranoid."

"Muffy thinks so," she said. "Grant is a very nice kid once you get to know him.

Finally we check on Kiki and Drenig. Both were actually trying to stay away from each other as they were searching through the plantation.

"Okay, I'll look over here and you look over there," Kiki said.

"Ay... okay," Drenig said as they both started walking through the fog in the plantation trying to find a clue or something. But they both came up empty. Eventually, they both bumped into each other again.

"Why does this keep happening?" Kiki asked.

"I know, it's annoying!" Drenig shouted. ...But then they stopped and thought about what they were doing.

"...I might be acting a bit harsh," Kiki said.

"No, I can see the problem," Drenig said. "It's not you don't like me, it's that you feel the show is trying to force a relationship on us."

"Exactly! Does Bertram think that we're not good enough on our own?" Kiki questioned. "At least you had Dustin."

"Well you had Riley," Drenig said. "And I bet Riley still likes you."

"...Maybe," Kiki said. Eventually she changed the subject. "Say, have you seen Furry Die-Gon?"

"You mean Terra Nappa Furry Die-Gon!? That show's awful!" Drenig exclaimed.

"You think so too?" Kiki asked. "It's like... That show tries way to hard to be hip and cool, and it comes off as corny, obnoxious, over-dramatic, and there isn't even an original idea in the story."

"It doesn't help that I get Pokemon all the time who brag about it to me," Drenig scoffed. "And then they nag at me and the Excadrill I work with about not liking the show. It's like people think I should be forced to like that filth. Same with Tiny Ponytas."

"Wait, you have an Excadrill working at Bigboss Motors that doesn't like it either?" Kiki asked.

"Are you kidding?" Drenig asked. "People assume that both Krookodile AND Excadrill have to like that show because it's about drills and monsters with shades. It's really really dumb, man."

"Oh and one more thing. ...What's wrong with Tiny Ponytas?" Kiki asked.

"...Oh, you like that show?" Drenig asked.

"Kind of, yeah," Kiki said.

"Meh, I guess what annoys me about it is it's fan base," Drenig said.

"Yeah, but the hate base is bad too," Kiki said.

"True, and Furry Die-Gon doesn't really have a hate base like Tiny Ponytas does," Drenig said. "I feel like we're alone."

They stopped and thought for a moment about the other party. Maybe, just maybe they did have a thing for each other. But eventually, reality struck.

"Well... Shall we press on?" Kiki asked. ...But suddenly, a voice came out.

"Team Mol-Tres! Can you hear me?" It was Bertram's voice, and he was speaking out through screens planted everywhere on the island.

Over with Wren and Percy, Wren was hearing the voices again. He was getting super spooked.

"YARGH! It's getting louder," Wren said.

"Wait a minute... it sounds like Bertram," Percy said. Eventually Percy went up to a building and inside there was a tv screen with Bertram on it.

"There's been a change of plans!" Bertram stated through the screen in all four locations. Everyone's eyes were now trying to see the screen Bertram was talking through. "It turns out the machine is actually in the air, so searching for it on ground is going to do us no good. Fortunately the map you have SHOULD lead you all the way to a junk yard that has many spare parts to work with."

Grant and Jet were in their cave and looking through the map. Grant saw the mark on the map that said "Junk Yard."

"Apparently so," Grant said to Jet.

"Pfft, why we need to go to some stupid junk yard anyway?" Jet asked.

"You'll find out when you get there," Bertram said. "I don't want to have to explain things then have to RE-explain things because you forgot. Now, hop to it."

Eventually Bertram logged off, and the contestants were on their next task. Aria and Muffy were not really too surprised, especially not Aria.

"I knew there was a catch," Aria said.

"Don't worry, It doesn't effect anything," Muffy said. "Let's just go there and find the junk yard, then Bertram will tell us what to do."

"Yeah... thanks, kind of knew that though," Aria stated.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Has Aria always been that sarcastic?" Muffy asked. "...What? I wasn't part of Team Zap-Dos, so I don't know what she's like as well as other people may, but Muffy does notice a little sarcasm in her manarisms."

-After Confessional-

And so the contestants set off to find the junk yard. There they would get the next task to destroying the gas machine.

**-Warning: Extremely Dangerous-**

Once all the contestants arrived at the junk yard, they awaited for Bertram's orders Of course some were feeling impatient.

"When's that buck-toothed moron going to show up?" Jet asked.

"Maybe if you would just be patient, Mr. Jet sir," Grant said.

"Whatever..." Jet said shaking his head.

"And remember," Grant whispered. "My offer still stands."

Aria was close enough that she could just barely hear Grant, but it didn't seem like anyone else could. Aria was becoming more and more suspicious.

"Offer still stands?" Aria asked herself. "What offer is he talking about?"

"Shhhhh..." Muffy sounded. "Bertram will be on any minute."

As if through speak of the devil, Bertram popped up on a foggy screen. There is where he would announce the situation.

"Okay, so you're probably wondering how to get to the gas breather in the sky," Bertram said.

"It would be nice to know," Kiki said.

"Well, there are some pedestals behind you each with a book on them," Bertram said. "Give the book a read and tell me what the challenge is."

Everyone looked behind them and was a bunch of books. On each of the books was the title _"How to build a flying suit"_ on them. This left Team Mol-Tres in shock.

"Okay... you expect us to build a flying suit?" Wren asked.

"Very much so," Bertram said.

"Are you nuts!?" Kiki yelled. "None of us have any experience in the field of mechanics!"

"Except your boyfriend Kiki," Jet mocked.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Kiki shouted.

"I really hate how this show is trying to force a relationship between us," Drenig stated. "We're light friends at best."

"...If it's about the tarot cards, that was completely on accident," Bertram said.

"Sure it was," Kiki and Drenig said in unison. ...Right before realizing they said something in unison. "ACK!"

"But THAT isn't important," Drenig stated. "Your task for today is to build a suit capable of flying you approximately forty feet in the air."

"And if we fall? We could die!" Kiki shouted.

"I sincerely question your hosting skills right now," Percy mentioned. "This sounds way too dangerous."

"Don't worry, if your suit falls or malfunctions, we have our crew setting up a biiiiiiiig net all over the island," Bertram assured. "If you fall, you'll fall in the net safe and sound."

"Sure! But what if we fall on top of each other?" Aria asked.

"That... is a good question," Bertram said. "Well there is always Betty."

"Muffy doesn't want to endanger herself," Muffy said.

"You want to destroy the fog machine and save Quarantine or not?" Bertram asked.

"Not really," Aria shouted. "It's just fog. We take our suits off, we'll be just fine."

"It's POISON fog," Bertram stated.

"No it's not," Aria said.

"JUST GET GOING! Make the flying machine and go!" Bertram shouted.

...Everyone stayed silent and turned their heads away. They didn't want to do it.

"Okay, let me put it this way," Bertram started. "Whoever refuses this challenge will be eliminated without question from this compotition!"

Everyone turned to the screen in shock. Bertram was starting to play hardball right now.

"Not good enough? How about this," Bertram started again. "The winner of this challenge will receive their own personal 3D Dual-Screen complete with the hottest games including Pokemon Epsilon Emerald, Super Crush Cousins 4, Bernardo-Buggy 3D Dual Screen edition, Super Bernardo Kingdom 3D, and Damsel In Distress: A Chain Among Two Dimensions! Are you going to say no to Bernardo-Buggy and Damsel in Distress?"

"Oww, right where it hurts Bertram," Wren cried.

Eventually everyone picked up their books and started to scavenge for parts in the huge piles of junk. That meant they were willing to work for a 3D Dual-Screen and five great games.

"Thaaats better," Bertram said kind of evilly before logging off.

Everyone got some parts and started working on their flying machines. ...Except for one thing, no one knew HOW to make a flying machine: not even the slightest clue. Muffy, in particular, was really frustrated even though she was working with her friends Wren, Grant and Aria.

"Muffy can't figure this out," Muffy stated.

"I built a killer robot, but... nothing like this," Grant mentioned. "I'm going to add some wicked lasers of doom to my machine. What about you guys?"

"I... don't know what I want," Aria said. "I guess I just want a machine that works. Course, I have no experience in this field."

"Yeah, building a flying machine is something new to me," Wren said. "But man... Super Crush Cousins 4!"

"Awww, Drenig's gonna be good at this one," Muffy said. "He's the one who has experience in mechanics."

"Hey! That doesn't mean I can put together a complicated flying machine!" Drenig called out. "Ay aint a super genius or anything."

Eventually, Percy came up to the group and sat down next to them. He wanted to learn how to make a flying machine too, but he was getting nowhere.

"Hey Wren," Percy said. "Mind if I sit here and ask for tips?"

"Not at all, Percy," Wren said. "But I'm just as clueless as you are. Oh man, Super Crush Cousins 4!"

"Muffy want Super Crush Cousins 4 too," Muffy stated.

"I'm more interested in Pokemon Epsilon Emerald," Aria said.

"You aint played platformers until you've played a Super Bernardo game," Kiki stated, walking by the group. "Mind if I sit here too?"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Grant said. "Might I say, you are looking quite nice today Kiki."

"Uhh... this is how I always look," Kiki said.

"Ay man, I wouldn't say Super Bernardo games are king of platformers," Drenig said, also walking by the game. "I prefer Zap Shaymin games, especially the older ones. I've even tried newer Super Bernardo games, and I... Ay just don't know. They seem so slow and clunky, also kind of slippery and just... eh."

"What!?" Muffy cried. "You insult Super Bernardo games and tell me that washed-up has been is better!?"

"How can you not like Super Bernardo games?" Wren asked.

"I just said why I don't, man," Drenig said. "It's not something to get excited over."

"Yes, why is it a crime that he doesn't like Super Bernardo games?" Grant asked.

"I don't complain when people say they don't like Zap Shaymin," Drenig said. "And on that note, I'm gonna main him if I get Super Crush Cousins 4."

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Bernardo fans can be just as bad as Tiny Ponyta fans AND Furry Die-Gon fans," Drenig said. "They say a Bernardo fan-base doesn't exist, but it's like every time I try to say I don't like the games that much, I'm insulted by Bernardo fans for it. It's like I absolutely have to like the franchise."

-After Confessional

"And if I win, I'm gonna main Ultra Mortar," Grant said. "Besides, Ultra Mortar games are way better than Super Bernardo AND Zap Shaymin combined."

"Yeah, those games are great," Aria said. "But I would have to say Towermania is my favorite. I'm going to main Saurmon Bulbado if I get the game."

"...Saurmon Bulbado's not in it," Kiki said.

"Oh... never mind then," Aria said.

"Muffy wonders what Jet's doing right now," Muffy said.

"Why would that matter?" Wren's asked.

"I don't know, he's the only one not in the group," Muffy said.

"Stupid scrap metal!" Just then they heard a shout in the distance. "None of these pieces are fitting together!"

They saw Jet trying to build his machine. Eventually though, he started going to town on his current build with a steel pipe he found. Alas, no one else was any farther on their machines."

"Speaking of Jet, what about that OFFER?" Aria brought up.

"What, you mean sharing my coconut and Nanab Berry stash with him?" Grant asked.

"...Oh, that was it?" Grant asked

"Yeah, that's all," Grant said.

"Never mind then," Aria finished. ...And yet, she couldn't help but wonder if he was sincere.

"See, nothing suspicious," Muffy said.

"Yes... nothing," Aria muttered.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Fools. I had that in my mind the entire time," Grant said. "Always have a back-up idea if you suspect someone might have heard you. ...However, knowing Aria, she's onto me. I can't let her stay in the compotition too long, she could derail my plans. I must get rid of her some way. ...But how?"

-After Confessional-

It was two hours since they started the challenge and no one has made any progress on their machines. They were still talking about the video games they were promised if they win, but no matter how hard they worked on their machines they made no progress.

"Anyone ever play any of the Eeby games?" Muffy asked.

"Yeah, the Eevee that steals other enemies powers, right?" Drenig asked.

"Like Ultra Mortar!" Grant blurted.

"...No, I can't say I have," Percy said. "If I play video games, it's always a fighting game of some sort. I'd probably main Tiny Rogue from Chan Tyson's Knockout."

As the groups were talking, Jet couldn't help but look at the group. Everyone was gathered around, building machines together and he was all alone. No one wanted him in their group nor did he really want to be part of their group. He couldn't help but smirk.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"While they're shooting the breeze, I'm actually working," Jet said. "I swear, this would almost be the easiest video game console I ever scored, except I'm still struggling on that PIECE OF JUNK!"

-After Confessional-

"Let's talk about Damsel In Distress now," Aria started. "That Chain guy's pretty cool, huh?"

"I bet Lilly wouldn't mind being saved by that Gallade," Muffy said.

"Yeah, I dunno about him, but Bernardo's kinda cool," Kiki said. "How do Emboar's jump so high?"

"Well if you ask me," Wren started. ...But before he could say anything, Bertram came back on the screen. He didn't seem happy at all.

"What's the hold up!? What's taking so long!?" Bertram asked.

"You know, we're not exactly rocket scientists," Jet blurted out.

"Oh come on, it can't be that hard to make a flying machine," Bertram said.

"We're trying the best we can," Percy said.

"You can't just pick up a book and expect to be able to build a machine lickity-split, man," Drenig commented.

"And tempting us with video games won't make us learn how to build any faster," Kiki mentioned.

"...Okay, this challenge was a bad idea. I knew I should have went with my gut but the producers were like "Do it! It will be fun to watch!" Bertram said to himself. "I can already see the ratings on this show going down. No matter, I'll just have to switch to plan B: Order some stupid flying suits."

Bertram got out a cellphone and dialed a number. He proceeded to wait for an answer before talking.

"Uh yes, this is Bertram of the show Quarantine," Bertram said. "I am calling to order eight flying machines. ...Speculations? Sure, about three for heavy ones, and five normal sized ones. You'll do that? How much? WHAT!? I already spent two-thousand of the registry fee on a former contestant! ...Oh fine, but only cause I'm desperate. ...Yes you know the place. Just past the Decrepit Lab, yes. Thank you, I will be there."

After hanging up on his phone, he noticed he was still on the screen. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Stop working!" Bertram said. "I'll just have flying suits available in about 30 minutes so stop working!"

After about fifteen minutes, the suits arrived at the front gates of Quarantine. Bertram was still in his gas suit as he went to greet the salesman.

"Yes, welcome to Quarantine," Bertram greeted. "You'll have to excuse the suit, we're doing an episode where the entire peninsula is shrouded in gas. Everyone has to wear these suits. Anyway, here is the money I owe you for said suits."

As Bertram went to pay the Pokemon with the flying suits, he looked back and noticed something was wrong. The camera crew was there and he was filming him.

"You're not supposed to film that!" Bertram said. "No one cares about a situation involving Bertram and the salesman! Oh good grief, this is starting to be the worst episode yet, I apologize to the viewers at home, I swear the series is going to finish strongly."

Bertram then turned back to the salesman and gave a smile. He was trying to smile through the pain of losing a good chunk of money and having his show's reputation put on the line.

"Many thank yous for the suits," Bertram said. "I know my contestants are going to love these."

While Bertram was having the suits shipped out to the contestants, they were still talking about video games They were talking about what games their friends might have played it they played video games.

"My dojo loves fighting games about as much as Percy does," Kiki said. "Too bad Nobendo doesn't make them, unless you count Crush Cousins."

"Dustin really likes hack & slash games," Drenig stated. "Anything with a medieval theme, really."

"Say Wren, what kind of games do you think Stawolt would have played?" Aria asked.

"Oh, why did you bring his name up again?" Wren asked. "I still think he got kicked off too soon."

"Can't be helped now," Grant said as he was putting a tube on his device. "Say, does this look like a..."

"No," the group blurted in unison.

"Darn, still at the drawing board," Grant said.

"I don't know what kind of games Lilly would have played," Muffy said. "Maybe... You know, she really was more of a book person."

"Say, what about Riley?" Drenig asked.

"Huh... I don't know," Kiki said to the group. "Maybe first person shooters? Hard to say."

"Anyone like RPGs?" Aria asked.

"Not really, Muffy could never handle the slow pace of them," Muffy said.

"Yeah, I prefer games with more action," Kiki said.

"Me too," Percy mentioned. "Plus, RPGs are always so long, and I'd rather have games I can finish."

"Uhhh, guys?" Wren said, pointing to the sky. He could just see a black web in the air.

"Bertram must be putting out that net," Kiki said.

"But if the nets over our heads, how will we get up?" Muffy asked.

"They will leave it open in time for us to take off," Percy said.

"Speaking of which, where's the flying machines?" Drenig asked.

"Bertram said about thirty minutes," Aria said. "And so far it's been... I don't have a watch."

After a few more minutes, Bertram and some of his workers arrived with flying machines. Bertram still seemed un-pleased.

"Here you go, crumb bums," Bertram said as he showed the machines. "Since you're too stupid to create one, we brought some out here. Big ones for Percy, Drenig and Muffy, normal ones for everyone else."

"...We don't know how to fly suits either," Kiki said.

"Instruction manuals!" Bertram shouted as he had eight in his paw and started handing them to the contestants. "These booklets will tell you how to operate the flying machines. Even you guys can do THAT, right?"

Drenig instantly went up to his suit and strapped on. With the flying suit around his body, he went back over to the group.

"I think I can manage it," Drenig said.

"Ha! If croc face can, so can I!" Jet shouted as he hopped over to his suit and strapped it on. "Nothing to it. All you have to do is press buttons to go up, and lightly press them to go down. Move the levers according to direction, and that's all he wrote."

"...Wow, the idiot actually figured something out," Bertram said. "Anyone else surprised?"

"No," Percy said before strapping himself in. "I just skimmed through the manual, it's not rocket science."

"Well... technically it is," Bertram said. "The suits are powered by rockets."

The audience just went to their suits and strapped on. Bertram looked at them like he was expecting them to laugh.

"You're right, dumb joke. Is everyone strapped in?" Bertram asked.

"Muffy's all ready to go," she said.

"This still seems dangerous," Aria said.

"There's a 3D Dual Screen still up for grabs to the winner of the challenge," Bertram reminded.

"Caution thrown to the wind, let's go!" Aria shouted.

"Splendid," Bertram said. "Now, if you fly high enough, I'm sure you will be able to find it above the clouds. Be sure to fly as far away from each other as possible to avoid getting hit, are we clear?"

"May we please take off already?" Grant asked. "I feel so empowered in this flying contraption. Let me feel the power even more."

"You asked for it," Bertram said. "Now, step away from the others." Everyone did as Bertram said. "And now... FIGHT DAGGER EYES FLYING FOG MACHINE!"

Jet pressed his buttons all the way down: the flying suit equivalent of flooring it. As a result, he shot up into the air like a bullet. Grant did the same thing, as did Muffy and Wren. The rest were a bit more careful. They slowly pressed their buttons, resulting in a speedy but steady flight upward.

"Good luck guys!" Bertram called out from under the net which was currently closing him off.

Over at the fog machine, some of Gola's dragon workers were working on the machine. A pair of Axews were leaving their shift. They were also talking about the machine itself.

"I know the workers are responsible for most of the power, but where is it going?" the first one said.

"There's a battery in the back," the second one said. "The battery is receiving the power from the workers. It's a big glass dome that houses the source. If the dome is smashed, the whole machine goes down."

"Right, let's hope that doesn't happen," the first one said.

"How could it?" the second one asked.

"Cause they're COMING!" the first one shouted, pointing to some specks in the distance.

"Wait, what!?" the second one said. "They actually found a way to get here. Dagger Eyes will not be happy."

"Well, what should we do?" the first one asked.

"...Whatever we can," the second one mentioned.

Down below, Bertram was watching on. He was unable to see the contestants now through the fog.

"I guess those machines worked," he said. "Well I haven't done one of these in a while, so this will be a nice breath of fresh air. Eight contestants, one fog machine, five fun-filled Nobendo games. Who will win the game package? Who will fall down to the net like Stawolt in gym class. Please stick with us, I swear the next part of the show will be much better, so stick around."

**-Slow Ride-**

The Axews were wondering how to combat Team Mol-Tres. They didn't have much to work with.

"What do we do? What kind of weapons do we have?" the first Axew asked.

"Well... we have these," the second one said, showing a bouncy ball and a hoola-hoop to the other. "Dagger Eyes had them for when the workers are bored and on their breaks."

"That's it!? That won't stop them!" the first one freaked out.

"Well Medulla was smart enough to make a fog machine that flew, but wasn't smart enough to stock us with weapons," the second one said.

"Abandon the fog machine!" the first one cried.

"You're giving up too easy," the second one said. "Worst comes to worst we'll battle them in the sky with our feet! ...And since we have really small feet, that's totally not a bad thing."

"...It is if you bring it up," the first one said.

"Well our hands are going to be busy flying the machines," the second one reminded. "And since we don't know any real abilities, our legs are all we got. And besides, at least we won't end up like poor Wren when all of this is said and done."

"Poor poor Wren," the first one said before taking off.

"TO THE SKIES THOSE WHO AREN'T WORKING!" the second one called. "Some stay behind and throw balls and hoops at them!"

Over with the contestants, Jet was finding the hardest time to take control as Wren, Muffy and Grant all managed to slow down. Jet was determined to get to the machine first, but was going way too high.

"Gah! Down! Down!" Jet yelled as he let go of the buttons. ...Jet then started to drop like a bolt of lightning. "NO! UP! UUUUUP!"

Meanwhile, Drenig, Kiki, Percy and Aria peaked through the clouds in front of Muffy, Wren and Grant. They were having the best handle on their devices.

"Huh, these machines aren't too hard to operate!" Kiki called out.

"Ya just gotta get used to the controls!" Drenig shot back.

"I wonder where Jet is!" Percy shouted. The other three were coming up from behind.

"Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Grant sounded out, hinting that he had fallen.

"NO!" But suddenly, Jet shot up again. He had no idea how to control his machine. "THIS BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITES!"

"Anyone else actually kind of feel sorry for him right now?" Aria asked.

"No!" everyone but Aria and Muffy said in unison.

"...Muffy kind of does," Muffy said.

Just then, the Axew fighters started to show up. They started to spread out in order to attack the group.

"We got company, guys!" Wren called out as he saw the Axews.

As the Axews got near, they started to attack the contestants. They tried to lower themselves to their level slowly and carefully. Some of the contestants shot up to avoid them, others lowered their decent, but Wren and Muffy were unlucky with their attack. Still, more Axews came.

"ACK! Stop that!" Muffy shouted as an Axew pushed off her. This disoriented both Muffy and Wren, causing them to swerve and fluctuate between speeds.

"Muffy! Wren!" Aria called out. "Stick to a steady speed and go high or low if the Axews..."

Before Aria could finish, she was attacked by an Axew as well. But Aria tried to keep cool. She lifted her fingers a smidgen from the buttons to lower herself, then went forward to evade the Axews further.

"Remember, they're coming towards us, so they can only attack once!" Aria suggested.

"Gah! Kamikaze fighters at twelve o-clock!" Drenig said.

"How can you tell it's twelve o-clock!?" Kiki shouted.

"Twelve o-clock as in a direction, it means North!" Drenig shouted. "And... I'm not even sure about that part!"

"Hey, if we're above the fog, can we take our suits off?" Grant asked.

"Be my guest, but it's not preferable right now!" Aria shouted.

The next wave of Axews were coming and they were going straight towards the contestants. This seemed even more dangerous.

"Here goes nothing!" Percy said as he flew up after an Axew tried to knock him out. Another one tried to, but that time Percy flew down, dodging both. "Ha! They're not very good at that are..."

"yyyyyaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR**RRRRRRRRGH!**" Suddenly, Jet came back down and landed right on Percy. After a clash, both of them were knocked out of the air.

"PERCY!" Wren shouted, deeply worried for him.

As they both fell through the fog, they managed to break away from each other, but their suits were both malfunctioning and unable to return to the skies. Eventually, they both slammed into the net set on Quarantine. Bertram saw the whole thing from the sight of them to the impact. They were lucky neither of them were seriously injured.

"Nothing but net," Bertram joked after the debacle was subsided.

Back in the sky, contestants were starting to get REALLY worried about their well being. After seeing Jet and Percy collide, they couldn't help but feel like giving up.

"I don't know if those games are worth it, this is suicide!" Wren shouted.

"Relax! What could possibly go wrong?" Drenig asked.

"No!" Aria shouted after he said those words. "What could possibly go wrong" was basically a death sentence. Eventually, MORE Axews came towards them, in bigger droves this time.

"THAT is what could possibly go wrong!" Kiki shouted.

"MUFFY DOESN'T WANT TO DIE!" Muffy whined.

"Just time the finger presses," Aria reminded.

"Easier said than done!" Wren shouted.

"...I aint afraid!" Drenig announced.

Drenig immediately floored his machine and went high into the air. This shocked the rest of Team Mol-Tres.

"What are you doing!?" Kiki yelled.

"Are you crazy!?" Aria asked.

"The higher you go, the harder you fall!" Grant warned.

"Ay'll take my chances!" Drenig called back.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Okay, if I may be honest, seeing Drenig act all brave and cool was actually kind of awesome," Kiki said. "I hate to admit it, but Drenig is kind of a cool guy."

Kiki couldn't believe she just said that. She looked at the camera in fear.

"Oh no, it's already happening," Kiki said. "Me and him are buying into it!"

-After Confessional-

Drenig rose higher and higher till he couldn't go any higher. Still, he was high enough that most of the Axews couldn't get him.

"PUSH THE BUTTONS AS FAR AS THEY CAN GO!" Drenig shouted. "RELEASE WHEN YOU CLEAR THE ENEMIES!"

"He might have a point!" Kiki shouted.

"You're not actually agreeing with him, are you?" Aria asked.

"He could get us all killed!" Muffy yelled.

"Even if we dodge the Axews, we'll have trouble landing!" Grant shouted.

"We're getting way too close to the machine!" Wren added.

"It will be the only way to dodge the Axews!" Kiki said as she floored the buttons and rose to the skies. "BANZAI!"

"Should we try it?" Grant asked.

"I suppose so," Aria said. "Uhhh... Banzai!"

"BANZAI!" Muffy yelled.

"Banzai!" Wren shouted.

"...I have no idea what that means," Grant said as he and everyone else rose to the skies.

Eventually, the contestants rose so high that the Axews had no choice but to fly past them. And now with the Axews all out of the way, the contestants were home free to the flying fog machine. ...Or so they thought.

"Now we just have to let go on the button a little and ease down to the fog machine!" Drenig suggested.

"Okay, no problem," Muffy said. Eventually they all lowered themselves and they were near the fog machine.

"You know, there's a 3D Dual Screen on the line, why are you giving us advice?" Aria asked.

"Cause your safety's worth more!" Drenig shouted.

"Wow, that's pretty righteous, Drenig!" Wren shouted.

"Besides, I'm gonna win anyway!" Drenig shouted. He was kidding around a bit, but he was still plenty competitive.

"Oh no you don't!" Kiki shouted, getting into the competitive spirit.

"Muffy wants video games too!" Muffy shouted.

"Right behind ya!" Wren shouted.

"Don't forget me!" Grant called out.

"...Eh, I could care less about video games," Aria said to herself.

As the team was nearing the fog machine, the Axews on it started to panic. That's when they started throwing hoops and balls.

"Is that all they got?" Drenig asked, deciding he would try to power his way through them.

They were throwing balls and hoops at the contestants as hard as they could. The balls weren't doing much, but a hula-hoop hit Drenig straight in the forehead.

"Ay man, that hurt!" Drenig shouted. "Of course you didn't need me to tell you that!"

Kiki was also getting abuse, but she was powering through it all like a tank. Even a hula-hoop to the chest didn't even phase her.

"I've had Rhyperiors punch me in the face!" Kiki shouted. "Your pathetic weapons are worthless against me!"

Drenig couldn't help but notice how strong willed Kiki was as she made it to the fog machine first. Kiki hadn't had the chance to show it much, but she was one tough pile of talons and feathers.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"I never realized how much of a trooper Kiki was," Drenig said. "I mean, I had to have known since she's a black-belt in... whatever her field of martial arts is, but if you can take a blow to the head from an object, even something as innocuous as a hula-hoop, then that is pretty cool. ...I hope I'm not cursing myself."

-After Confessional-

"I'm gonna get there before you Drenig!" Kiki shouted as she took her suit off and ran inside.

"Oh no you don't," Drenig said as he decided to fly right inside the machine. The Axews immediately got out of the way as he did. Aria and the rest couldn't help but be suspicious of the two.

"...Those two are doomed," Aria said jokingly. She wasn't referring to their fate inside the machine, she was referring to their friendship.

"Yup," Wren said, understanding what Aria meant.

"Totally doomed," Grant said, also understanding.

Inside, there wasn't much standing in her way between the battery an her. Even the workers inside were useless as they needed to stay working on the machine. The only thing in her way... was Drenig.

"This is gonna be easy!" Kiki shouted confidently.

"Yeah! For me!" Drenig yelled, also confident.

Eventually, Drenig flew past Kiki towards the battery, but Kiki didn't give up. This made Kiki work even harder to get to battery. The battery seemed... way too easy to destroy: just stepping on it would work. Why would they have such a crushable battery? ...Of course this was a game-show, but still.

Eventually, they both got to the battery. Drenig was going to land his foot on top of the battery, while Kiki was going to give it one of her best Judo kicks. As they both executed their moves, a moment of suspense appeared afterward as a stomp on the batter caused a flash of light in all directions. ...But when the lights cleared, both of their feet were on the destroyed battery. To make things even weirder, neither of their claws overlapped the other, but in fact they were both locked into each other through each of their claws. The winner was... not obvious.

"Huh?" Drenig asked. They both stared at their feet for a long time.

"Who won?" Kiki asked dumbfoundedly.

"That's not important!" Wren shouted as he and the rest got inside. "You guys have to get out of here! The fog machine's going to crash!"

"My machine!" Kiki yelled.

"Don't worry, if you can man the buttons I'll hold onto you," Drenig said.

Kiki couldn't help but smile at Drenig right now. ...Until she realized they were DEFINITELY starting to buy into the forced relationship. That wiped the smile off BOTH of their faces.

"No, I better go get my own," Kiki said.

"Yeah, you're right," Drenig agreed. "That would be way too weird."

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Like I said," Aria reiterated. "They... are... doomed."

-After Confessional-

Afterwards, Team Mol-Tres flew down from the fog machine that was falling to the ground and went back down to Quarantine, where the fog was already clearing. Bertram and Betty were down there treating Percy and Jet for wounds. When the team finally landed in their net, Bertram looked at the group and smiled.

"There, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Bertram asked.

"I... I... I hate you," Aria said.

"Now that we are here, onto the prize," Bertram said before one of the camera-mon went up to him and started to whisper into his ear. "What do you mean you couldn't tell who won!?"

"It all happened so fast," the camera-mon said. "What I saw was Kiki and Drenig hitting the battery at almost exactly the same time."

"Give me that camera!" Bertram said as he started looking through the video footage. "Ugh, it's too close to tell!"

"What should we do?" the camera-mon asked.

"More money down the toilet," Bertram mumbled. "Okay, after carefully reviewing the video, this game is a tie. Both Drenig AND Kiki will get 3D Dual Screens."

"Hang on! I hit the battery first!" Drenig shouted.

"No way you overgrown lizard! I did!" Kiki yelled.

"Don't talk to me that way, feather-face!" Drenig countered.

"I'll talk to you any way I want about you AND that lame haircut of yours!" Kiki shouted.

"Don't talk about my hair that way, hotdog head!" Drenig shouted.

Even though they were fighting, it was clear to the contestants what they were doing. They just didn't want to admit they actually had feelings for the other, so they tried to hide it by fighting. ...But it didn't look like anyone was fooled.

"Bow chika-wow wow," Jet blurted out as he watched the two love birds go at it with each other. The battle waged on as the Fog Machine crashed into the net, and the fog started to clear. They might be there all day pretending they didn't like each other.

**-Bertram is ALWAYS Watching-**

While sitting in his control room, Bertram was watching over the footage of today's episode. He was trying to look for things to cut out of the show.

"Ugh, just one flop after another," Bertram said. "Failed challenge, money wasted on flying suits and a second 3D Dual Screen, and what's with all the foot references? Dis-GUSTING! I'm beginning to wonder if I can even afford to keep running this show, I'm starting to lose money on it. ...Then again, with all the money I've lost, I'd still be rich. Plus, hopefully the rating will be good enough that all the viewing of this program will HOLD ON, WHAT IS THAT!?"

Bertram eventually saw something on the screen that immediately gave him a stone look. After a while he shook his head and let out a sigh.

"I guess there's more to this story," Bertram said. "I warned them not to do that, but that crosses the line."

Back at the bunkers, a huge argument was spewing over the prize. All you could hear was senseless shouting between a male and female.

"Bernardo's too slow!" Drenig shouted as he was playing his 3D Dual Screen and his copy of Super Crush Cousins 4. "It's all about speed, Kiki!"

"Power and weight!" Kiki shouted, playing HER 3D Dual Screen and Super Crush Cousins 4. "Zap Shaymin could kick him thousands of times and get nowhere! Bernado would STILL be standing against that washed-up Shaymin!"

"Oh yeah!?" Drenig yelled.

"YEAH!" Kiki yelled.

The other contestants were watching the two duke it out on their 3D Dual Screens. They had to sit through all of their shouting.

"Okay, we get it, you two are shouting at each other to hide the fact you like each other," Aria stated.

"Is THAT what they're doing?" Muffy asked.

"Why else would they act like they hate each other all of a sudden?" Wren asked.

Suddenly, on both screens, Bernardo and Zap both came out for one final attack and... They smacked each other and both went flying off screen, resulting in another tie for the two Pokemon.

"RAURGH I HATE YOU!" the two roared at each other after another tie. ...But of course, they both calmed down almost immediately and giggled at each other. It was obvious they were trying to hard NOT to hook up with each other, and that was causing them to like each other more and more. ...If that makes sense.

"So, now that the battle is over, can we talk about who to send home?" Grant asked.

"That Percy needs to go!" Jet said. "Not just for what he did this morning, but for crashing into me in the challenge!"

"First off, you were asking for it," Kiki stated.

"And second, Percy wasn't the one who couldn't control his machine," Wren stated.

"You know, Jet's lost this challenge," Percy reminded.

"Right, we can send him home now," Aria mentioned.

"You know, I'm right here and I can hear you," Jet said.

"No one cares!" Drenig mentioned.

"You already know people don't like you," Muffy stated. "So why be surprised if we want to kick you off?"

"I'm not," Jet said. "But mark my words, I have survived through this many eliminations, and I've ALWAYS found a way to stay in the game. I am NOT going home, not now, not tomorrow, not until that cash prize is mine!"

Suddenly, Bertram appeared on the screen in the Mol-Tres bunker. He had an announcement to make.

"Has everyone had their supper?" Bertram asked.

"Yep, all full," Grant said to Bertram.

"Good, meet me at the Quarantine Chamber all of you," Bertram stated. "Don't bother going to the confessionals today to register your votes. There will be NO VOTING needed in today's ceremony. Good day."

After Bertram logged off, Jet got even more cocky.

"Nine lives, losers!" Jet mocked to the rest of the group.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"I don't know what Bertram's bag is, but I know he aint calling us up there for anything I did," Jet said. "I'm like that nasty stain on the rug that won't go away no matter how much bleach you throw at it. Ha ha ha ha!"

-After Confessional-

Everyone met Bertram at top for what seemed like a serious deal. No voting meant something was wrong.

"So, no votes? No milk! Anyone care to guess why?" Bertram asked. ...No one answered. "Well, after carefully reviewing today's episode, I found something MOST shocking in the footage."

"Okay, what evil scheme did Grant do?" Aria asked.

"Who said I did anything?" Grant asked. "Why do you keep insisting I did something?"

"I'm on to you, Grant," Aria said.

"No no no, nothing Grant did," Bertram said. "But it was definitely something that one of you did. Care to come clean?" ...No one answered again. "Does ANYONE recall some of the rules I've made?"

"No using moves, no abilities, no body parts others are incapable of using?" Wren asked.

"Precisely Wren," Bertram said.

"Yeah? But what could I have done Aria?" Grant asked. "I don't have any body parts to use that you other guys don't have."

"I already said Grant," Bertram started. "You are not the person who broke the rules... Was he PERCY!?"

"What? When did he break the rules!?" Muffy asked.

Percy started to sweat bullets. It's obvious he knew what Bertram was referring to.

"Well Percy? Something you would like to say?" Bertram asked.

"I... I handled Jet with my tail," Percy said. "I forgot that I am not allowed to use my tail in Quarantine."

"Especially you are not supposed to use said tail to catapult a fellow competitor in the wall!" Bertram shouted.

"Jet had it coming!" Kiki shouted.

"I thought we were teaching our contestants better," Bertram said. "Why back in my day, we were taught NOT to encourage and justify bullying to anyone, no matter how unlikeable they were! Oh how the times have changed since my days."

"I know I wasn't supposed to do that," Percy said. "But do you know how much of an unlikeable jerk Jet is?"

"Did that give you the right to assault him with a body part you were NOT allowed to use?" Bertram asked.

"Not really, but..." Percy started.

"But" nothing!" Bertram shouted. "I have warned contestants not to do so, but to actually harm someone with a forbidden body part? Percy, I have no choice but to DISQUALIFY you from Quarantine!"

"Ha! The great and mighty Percy is gone!" Jet shouted. "I knew I'd outlive you in the competition!"

"You better shut your mouth right now!" Percy shouted. "It's true I had no right in doing what I did, but if you think I am sorry for it, you have a loose screw in your brain! No matter how many times we tell you to shape up, you just go back to old Jet! You are a lost cause who's egotistical, clumsy, paranoid, dishonest, loud-mouthed, manipulative, self-centered, desperate, hot-headed, whiny, idiotic, poor sportsmanly, and are completely unbearable to be around! I cannot stand being around you any longer! I didn't want this to be the outcome, but right now anything that gets ME away from YOU is fine by me!"

Everyone but Jet clapped after Percy finished his qualms. He told them all the things that people hated about him, and having all those things said to Jet in his face made the contestants happy.

"That was priceless," Bertram said. "I have wanted someone to say all of that to Jet. You, Percy, have done what none of us had the guts to do. ...But you're still disqualified, and that's how it goes."

"Well then... I guess this is goodbye guys," Percy said as he walked over to the chamber. Percy opened the door up himself and tried to squeeze in, managing to fit himself inside the chamber before Bertram shut the door on him. The whole time as gas was filling in the room, Percy's gaze was on Jet the whole time until the gas obscured his body. After a bit, he vanished like the rest.

"Now... let this be a lesson to the rest of you," Bertram said. "Any more rule-breaking, and you will suffer the same fate. ...So please, play nice. ...And stop encouraging assault. Are we clear? Good, then you may go for the night."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"...What if he's right?" Muffy asked. "What if Jet just can't be kicked off? What if I go home before he does? Oh know, Jet is way too much of a jerk to want that to happen to poor Muffy."

-After Confessional-

Bertram got prepared for the closing speech of the episode. It wouldn't be too fancy, but it would make due.

"And then there were seven," Bertram stated. "The competition heats up, and the show becomes MUCH BETTER than this episode. But what will happen next time on Quarantine? Only time will tell and until then we say goodbye to you... for now."

**-Next Time on Quarantine-**

_"Only Diance's Diamond can defeat me!"_

_Contestants must search a huge keep for a large jewel capable of suppressing dragon powers._

_"Why do we need some dumb Jewel? Can't I just wallop him?"_

_But with many spooky turns at every corner, someone's bound to freak out._

_"Why did they put these iron maidens down here?"_

_And even guardians are boundless._

_"Escavaliers! Run!"_

_And not to mention another contestant to exile._

_"Ha! As if I actually wanted to aid her wishes. I hate her!"_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Diamonds Are For Never._


	13. Chapter 13: Diamonds Are For Never

Episode 13: Diamonds Are For Never

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"Quarantine will be ours in no time. MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!"_

_Contestants were faced with their most dangerous and challenging task yet._

_"Waaaaaah! Percy scared! Percy dun wanna go in scary tunnel."_

_Conestants teamed up once again in order to find the fog machine..._

_"Okay, I have had it with the Malamar stereotypes!"_

_...only to be sent on a wild goose chase._

_"I made a few last-minute changes to the fog machine so that it can operate from above the clouds."_

_Contestants were tasked with making their own flying suits. ...A task that proved too great even for Drenig._

_"...Okay, this challenge was a bad idea."_

_Contestants then had to fly to the fog machine using flying suits that Bertram ended up having to buy._

_"Twelve o-clock as in a direction, it means North! And... I'm not even sure about that part!"_

_In the heat of the moment, Kiki and Drenig squared off in trying to destroy the battery first._

_"I've had Rhyperiors punch me in the face! Your pathetic weapons are worthless against me!"_

_...But it all ended in a tie._

_"Ugh, it's too close to tell!"_

_In elimination, after carefully reviewing the episode, Bertram disqualified Percy for his action against Jet._

_I didn't want this to be the outcome, but right now anything that gets ME away from YOU is fine by me!"_

_There are only seven contestants left. How things have gone down since the beginning of the series._

**-Mad Eyes and Moody-**

Before the episode, we look up on the antagonist of the show: Dagger Eyes. He was currently yelling at Medulla for the latest failure.

"NO! Your worthless fog machine was destroyed just like every plan you make Medulla!" Dagger Eyes. "Why did you not stock weapons onto it?"

"The machine would get too heavy to operate if we loaded it with weapons," Medulla said.

"And you are supposed to be a GENIUS Medulla!" Dagger Eyes roared. "You have failed me for the last time! Now, you will be destroyed!"

You could see Dagger Eyes silhouette in the shot right before his eyes lit up and out of his eyes shot a huge laser that was sent right at Medulla. Medulla jumped back out of the laser beam, and then started to beg for his life.

"No! Don't kill me!" Medulla said. "I'm sorry things didn't work out, but I can still be useful. After all, the most worthless henchmen is a dead one."

"I want you to DANCE for your dear life!" Dagger Eyes yelled, shooting another beam at Medulla. Medulla dodged again.

"WAH! I can still be useful!" Medulla cried right after a third beam hit him and knocked him backwards a great distance. He did not die, but it was obvious that it rattled him up a lot. "Please I'm begging you."

"Well... I'll think about it for a day," Dagger Eyes decided. "But for now, get out of my sight. I want to talk to Gola now."

Medulla ran out of the room after Dagger Eyes last statement. Eventually, Gola came in instead. He seemed rather cheerful.

"Stupid useless Medulla," Dagger Eyes grumbled. "But you, you're the only henchmen I have who isn't completely useless. So... what is our next plan of attack?"

"Why are we even being creative?" Gola shouted. "Just go in there and destroy them! That's what we SHOULD have done in the first place, but with every mistake we make, we lose more and more henchmen to those STUPID contestants!"

"And so do they," Dagger Eyes stated. "You might not realize it, but there used to be eighteen of them, and now there's only seven. And with all the blunders we had, we are STILL winning! ...Although I do kind of wish we had Hespute back. He did more work than Vower and that useless Hypno combined."

"Even that Pudge brat did more than them!" Gola shouted.

"But, as much as I'd like a full scale attack, Bertram is not that dumb," Dagger Eyes said. "He put out all those cannons on the bunker. He gave the contestants mechs to use. He even made weapons using that VILE POTION! Nothing is stopping him from using other weapons to keep us at bay. And Vower already tried a full-scale attack with his army, and they failed. Hespute's army was eradicated, and Medulla's Drowzee and Hypno army proved to be USELESS! Most of our old army is now theirs. These contestants are tougher than we may wish to give them credit for."

"But THEY can't take on a Dragon," Gola said. "Once they get a load of my furious dragon breath, they... Oh wait, the purple one's a fairy isn't she?"

"Even YOUR army has proven useless against them," Dagger Eyes said. "You think Dragons are ALL POWERFUL! Prove it!"

"Fine, feast your eyes on THIS!" Gola then held out a necklace that was tucked inside his robe. It was a deep purple jewel and it was... HUGE. "This is the Lapis Lazuli of Lugia, one of the sacred gems of power!"

"...If it's a Lapis Lazuli, why is it purple and not blue?" Dagger Eyes asked.

"Nevermind that," Gola said. "With this gem, I am virtually unbeatable. Only Diance's Diamond can defeat me!"

"**YOU FOOL!**" Dagger Eyes shouted. "NEVER shout your weaknesses no matter where you are! You have no idea who could be listening!"

...Like for example, Bertram the Bibarel. He couldn't help but laugh at Dagger Eyes right now.

"I wonder if I should start taking it easy on those poor guys," Bertram said to himself. "It's obvious they underestimate the power of a wealthy Bibarel with the elemental power of Mew. ...Okay, maybe not that powerful, but then again... Is Mew all that powerful to begin with? Still, my power is supreme among Bibarel, and Pokemon should start respecting our species more. All the years of "Bibarels are so weak and stupid, and stupid looking!" Even from Team Mol-Tres and those who have gone have mocked me for my species. I look out for them, I provide them the best medical care money can buy, and I treat them to fabulous prizes every now and then, and yet I still don't get the respect I deserve. ...Well, I better locate that stupid gem then."

While Bertram was looking for the gem, Kiki and Drenig went back to competitive Crush Cousins. They were still trying to cement the ruse that they hated each other.

"Oh good gravy, who even plays Pac-Lax anymore?" Kiki asked.

"Pac-Lax is vintage, who the heck is Marsh the Marstomp?" Drenig asked.

"From Blaze Insignia?" Kiki shouted. "Who cares? Marsh is cool! And way cooler than that stupid Munchlax!"

"Don't like Pac-Lax, don't choose him!" Drenig shouted. "I'm choosing... I don't know..."

"Oh wow, Dr. Bernardo's back!" Kiki shouted. "I mained him in Super Crush Cousin's 2!"

"Good for you, I'm choosing the Furfrou Fighters," Drenig said.

"Oh please, you've so lost!" Kiki shouted.

The other contestants, once again, had to suffer through their made-up qualms. Some of them wanted to scream.

"Look, we all know you're making that up," Kiki said. "You can stop it now, we all know your friends."

"We are NOT FRIENDS!" Both Kiki and Drenig shouted.

-Confessional Session(Kiki/Drenig)-

"Drenig/Kiki is so cool!" Kiki and Drenig said about each other respectively.

-After Confessional-

Jet was not as peeved by the action as the rest were. In fact, he was kind of enjoying it. Well not so much enjoying it as he was accepting of it.

"If we're going into a Kiki/Drenig war, I pick Team Kiki," Jet said.

"Jet, cut it out!" Wren shouted. "They're just trying to hate each other cause they think they're being forced into a relationship."

"...Which was said approximately a hundred times give or take," Aria stated.

"Muffy's hungry," Muffy stated.

"Alright, I suppose we could try that pie again," Aria said. "But this time, I'm NOT allowing Grant anywhere near the kitchen till I'm done."

"Why me?" Grant asked.

"Yeah, why him?" Muffy asked again.

"Like I said, I don't trust him," Aria said.

"It's alright Muffy, you don't have to worry about poor Grant," he said. "But maybe SOME PEOPLE have their own secrets to hide. And me, I wanted to go back to that cave and explore it a bit before the next challenge."

"That's way too far away, you won't be back in time for breakfast," Wren stated.

"Then I guess I'll just go to the hunting grounds," Grant said. "I wouldn't mind admiring the wildlife."

"Grant, can I come with you?" Muffy asked.

"No, I'd rather you not," Grant said. "I would rather be alone."

"Okay, we'll let you go alone then," Muffy said. "I... I guess I'll... work with Aria then."

Muffy didn't seem happy about working with Aria. The thought of Aria sending her best friend home still lingered on.

"What's wrong?" Wren asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Muffy said.

"You still don't trust me?" Aria asked. "I really am trying to make up for what I did to Lilly."

"Right... I guess," Muffy said.

"It's okay, Aria is a nice person," Grant said. "You don't have to worry about her betraying you. Trust me."

"I said I guess," Muffy said. "Okay, we'll be in the kitchen then. Hopefully we can do that pie right this time."

"Ha! Knock-out Drenig!" Kiki yelled.

"Oh yeah!?" Drenig shouted. After Drenig's Furfrou Fighters respawned, they immediately took on Dr. Bernardo and knocked him out too. "How do you like that!"

"ARGH! Curse you!" Kiki yelled. ...Eventually the two started to giggle with each other again. They weren't doing a good job hiding their relationship.

"Alright, I'm going to the Kitchen now," Aria said. "See ya guys." Eventually her, Wren and Muffy left.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I don't mean to be on the offense," Aria started. "But I think Muffy might be a few ranks short of a Slowking. She doesn't trust me that much, yet she trusts that evil kid all of a sudden."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"I never told Aria about the time Grant saved that furry kid," Muffy stated. "I forgot what her name was, but I bet if Aria knew about that, I bet she'd be whistling another tune about Grant.

-After Confessional-

"I think I'll go to that hunting location now," Grant said. Grant then rushed out the door leaving Jet and the two "love birds" behind.

Inside the kitchen, Aria wanted to gain Muffy's trust. Aria decided it wouldn't hurt to help Muffy with the pie.

"Muffy, don't worry you made the cheese yesterday and you did a good job," Aria said. "Only thing you did was add too much spice. Think you can ease up this time?"

"I... I think so," Muffy said.

"I'll be frank, I don't think you can do it," Aria said. "I know you can."

"Should I cook the ham?" Wren said. "Drenig doesn't seem to like ham."

"He can just pick the chunks out again," Aria mentioned. "Now, just a smooth stiring like this."

Aria placed her tentacle on Muffy's arm. Aria tried to help guide Muffy along like. Muffy was actually starting to smile. Aria looked at Muffy's face and tried to give her friendliest smile. She wanted to make sure they were in good terms.

"You're doing very good," Aria said. "See? I can be a nice person when I want to be."

"I didn't doubt that," Muffy said. "Maybe... I'm just a bit biased, that's all."

"I'm going to go work on the scrambled eggs," Aria said. "Wren, don't forget to work on the pie crust."

"Got it!" Wren said happily.

The three of them were working together peacefully as they cooked their pie. Maybe Muffy could trust Aria after all.

Meanwhile, Grant was at the hunting grounds. He was standing right behind a tree, talking to himself.

"Alright, let's see here," Grant started. "Laaaa la la laaARGH!"

Grant seemed to be trying to sing, but he wasn't doing it in his voice. In fact, it almost seemed like he was trying to imitate Aria.

"Okay, no singing then," Grant said in his normal voice before trying to imitate Aria again. "Hey sug, this is Aria. Just wanted to let you know I am a VERY evil Malamar. You silly creature are a FOOL for trusting me. Bertram is so cool. ...Not! Lilly was such a nice person. ...Not! Oh I love vegetarian cuisine. ...NOT! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Aria?" Just then, Grant heard someone behind him. It sounded like Jet. "Aria, why aren't you in the kitchen?"

Suddenly, Jet jumped up to where Grant was and noticed Grant was not Aria. This made Jet confused.

"Huh? Where's Aria? I heard her voice," Jet said.

"Well... what are YOU doing here?" Grant asked.

"Hunting," Jet said. "Now that Percy's gone, I can do it in peace. Now where's Aria?"

"Oh, well that was... Aria is right..." Grant was thinking of an excuse, but he could think of none.

"That was YOU?" Jet asked. "But why? Why are you trying to imitate Aria?"

"I... well... He he he, just practicing being evil," Grant excused. Jet seemed to be onto Grant, but at the same time intrigued at what he was doing.

"You are one shifty little creature," Jet said. "You're doing something, and I would like in on it."

"Fine, if you must know," Grant started before going up to Jet and whispering. "I'm trying to imitate her voice so I can get her kicked off. She's onto all of my evil secrets, and I need to eliminate her."

"Wow, you're the real deal, aren't you?" Jet asked.

"As real as they come," Grant said. "All I need to do is talk around the right people while Aria is away, and then she's as good as gone."

"I never liked her anyway," Jet said. "Such a motormouth, really. ...By the way, the offer? The one you made me yesterday? ...I accept."

"Huh, so much for doubting me," Grant said. "I thought you said you could win the game by yourself."

"Well, I don't want your help so much in winning," Jet said. "I just want you to get rid of Aria and Drenig faster if you know what I mean."

"Okay, Aria's gone then maybe I'll consider ousting Drenig," Grant said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Jet asked.

"Not sure just yet, but he and Kiki are annoying EVERYONE with their made up battles," Grant said. "I could just go from there."

"Excellent, just get rid of Drenig then maybe Kiki," Jet said. "After that I won't need you anymore. I can win the game by myself."

"Sure you can," Grant said before he broke out in a laughing fit. Jet then burst out laughing right with him. Soon though, the two cackling Poochyenas would have to go back to the bunkers for breakfast.

Aria, Wren and Muffy had just finished making another breakfast pie. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen for breakfast. The pie was served again, this time in seven slices because of one less contestant.

"Okay, I am pretty sure we got it right this time," Aria said to the group. "Well? Enjoy. And no overpowered White Herb spice either."

Like last time, Drenig and Jet were hesitant in eating their slices. Drenig was picking out the chunks of ham again and Jet was worried about his figure again.

"Just eat the stupid pie, Jet!" Muffy shouted. "I didn't mess it up this time!"

"Fine," Jet said as he took a bite.

"Mmmm, this is much better," Kiki complimented.

"Yes, delicious!" Grant proclaimed.

"Hmmm, it's okay I guess," Jet said. Muffy started to growl at Jet for what he said.

"Thank you guys," Aria said. Suddenly, Bertram appeared on the screen in the kitchen again.

"Challenge time again," Bertram said. "Meet me outside, cause I have a lot to tell you and I want to do it as easily as possible."

After logging off, the contestants seemed a bit... perplexed. He's never explained a challenge that way before.

"Well, time to witness another one of Bertram's crazy ideas," Aria said to the group.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not going to be that crazy," Wren said as he went outside. The others followed Wren outside to where the challenge would be announced.

**-Castle Hastle-**

As everyone got outside, the first thing they saw as Bertram near a large cargo truck: just like the ones that hauled them to Quarantine. What did Bertram plan to do with the truck?

"Instead of making you walk to the next destination, I shall personally drive you there," Bertram said.

"Really? That doesn't sound like you," Wren said.

"In addition, there's a nice surprise in the van all for you," Bertram stated. "Want to see what it is?"

Bertram opened the back of the cargo truck and there was a table in there. On the table were seven cups each with a turquoise color to it.

"Wait, are those what I think they are?" Muffy asked.

"That is correct," Bertram said. "In honor of making it so far, I had my chefs prepare seven Nanabrawst smoothies."

Wren was the first inside to grab a smoothie. The cups even had a straw for easy sipping. Wren took a sip of his smoothie and smiled.

"Mmmm, it's got quite a bitter taste, but the sweetness really balances it out, bringing out a harmonious flavor," Wren said.

"What's the catch?" Kiki questioned. "Why are you being nice to us all of a sudden?"

"I feel like I don't treat you contestants kindly enough," Bertram said.

"Let me guess," Aria started. "It's because you're a Bibarel and no one likes Bibarel and you're trying to earn our respect by letting us rest our legs while enjoying a cold nanabrawst smoothie, am I right?"

"It has nothing to do with wanting respect!" Bertram erupted.

"Sure it doesn't," Aria said.

Bertram had an angry face on him, but at the same time he seemed kind of sad. What Aria said was true, and deep down he kind of felt like he got the short end of the stick when it came to what species he got to be: the ever so ridiculed Bibarel. The contestants started to feel sorry for him.

"It's not that we don't respect you," Kiki said. "Well Jet and Kiki might not, but the rest of us do, right guys?"

"Yeah, we don't have anything wrong with you," Wren said.

"You're a nice guy Bertram," Muffy added.

"It's just that... we don't know if we're supposed to like you or not," Kiki said. "You try to be the cold and serious type, but deep down you have a heart of gold."

"All because your father didn't hug you every night before you went to bed," Jet stated.

"...That's because my father was a Raticate," Bertram said. "He has very tiny arms. ...But he always tried to."

"Ignore Jet, he's just adding oil to the fire," Drenig said. "The point is we respect you more than you think."

"Okay... that's nice to know," Bertram said. "Okay, no smoothies and you get to walk."

"What!?" the contestants shouted.

"Just kidding, hop in, enjoy your drink," Bertram said before he entered his vehicle. The contestants hopped in the back and started to enjoy their smoothies. As the truck started to head out, the contestants couldn't help but wonder where they were going.

"Okay, so what is today's challenge?" Grant asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Bertram said. "Today we are going to explore... a castle."

"...Really, another exploration challenge?" Aria asked. "Isn't that incredibly cliche by now?"

"Hey, exploration is big. Going with the world trend," Bertram said. "But this time you are all on your own."

"And why are we going into a generic castle again?" Kiki asked.

"Come on, man! All we've done is storm buildings the entire show," Jet complained. "Give us something new!"

"I would like to do that, but we have a Dagger Eyes to take down," Bertram said. "And apparently Gola has a gem that makes him immortal unless you have Diance's Diamond. Speaking of Diance's Diamond that is EXACTLY what we are looking for."

"Okay, and you know it's in the castle because you heard them say it was in the castle?" Drenig asked.

"No, I did research on the matter," Bertram said. "The Diance's Diamond is said to be located in a mysterious castle known as Escavalier's Keep. ...And as luck would have it, it's located in Quarantine."

"How convenient," Aria stated.

"CAN IT, SQUIDFACE!" Bertram roared. "This gem provides the power of the fairies. Dragons, for example, fear fairies more than anything."

"Then why can't I just bite Gola?" Muffy asked.

"Because you're not a fairy type," Bertram said.

"Yes I am. Granbuls are fairy types," Muffy stated.

"They are?" Bertram asked. "When did that happen?"

"When the element was discovered," Wren mentioned. "Many Pokemon including Jigglypuffs, Clefairies, Azumarills, AND Granbulls were found to have fairy-based powers."

"Huh, guess I better keep up with the times," Bertram stated.

Eventually the group made it to the castle Bertram said he would be taking them to. The contestants looked on at the huge castle, wondering one thing.

"...How come we've never seen this castle before?" Grant asked.

"You would be surprised how big the peninsula is," Bertram stated.

"Great, do we get anything to help us find the jewel?" Grant asked.

"You will each receive an Itemfinder," Bertram said. "These Itemfinders pick up on peculiar items like the Diance's Diamond. They should prove helpful in finding the gem."

"So? They cannot pinpoint items," Grant said.

"Technology has come a long way," Bertram said."It used to be that they could not point exacts, but they have gotten much more powerful over the years.

"Great, can we go now?" Kiki asked.

"Hold on Mrs. Chicken," Bertram said. "Now, one big difference about today's maze/exploration mission is that you will NOT have to deal with any of Dagger Eye's henchmen this time, so this should be a peace of cake. ...Except for the usual traps and guardians."

"I knew it wouldn't be too easy," Aria said.

"And with so many rooms to search through, you could easily get lost in the castle and not find your friends," Bertram said. "Now the person who brings the gem out the door is the winner."

"Hmm, that sounds too easy," Grant said to himself. "All I have to do is..."

"And one thing, no guarding the door," Bertram said. "You actually have to go inside the castle, and you have to leave the entrance to the castle to make things fair."

"...Blast," Grant blurted.

"One final thing," Bertram said. "You may team up if you wish, but remember that only the one who has the jewel IN HAND is immune. So if you are going to team up, be wise about it. And with that I say to you, good will hunting."

Jet immediately bolted in the castle. He wanted to find that gem as quick as possible.

"Don't worry, he's not smart enough to find it that easily," Drenig said.

"I'm gonna find that gem before you Drenig!" Kiki shouted as she ran inside the castle.

"Why you stupid poultry bird!" Drenig shouted as he followed in. "You not off the pescitarian menu by the way!"

"I wanna go in together with Grant," Muffy said to the group. "...Grant?"

But Grant had already ran in. He didn't even give thought to Muffy.

"I think he already went in," Aria mentioned. "Anyway, good luck guys." Aria went inside to look for the gem herself, leaving Wren and Aria behind.

"You can team up with me, Muffy," Wren the goody two-shoes offered.

"Awww, thank you Wren," Muffy said with a smile as they both went in.

Jet was hopping down the hall of the castle trying to find the gem. Jet assumed it would be easy to find.

"Just rush in and find the gem," Jet said to himself. "What could be ARGH!"

As he was running across a rug in the hall, a rug gave way to reveal a flight of stairs which Jet carelessly fell down. That put Jet's search to a halt.

"...Medic!" Jet called out.

Grant was taking a more careful approach to the challenge. He started to look through rooms to find the gem. One thing didn't sit right with him.

"How big is this gem anyway?" Grant asked himself. "Bertram never specified."

Suddenly, Aria came in the same room as Grant. Normally she would try to avoid Grant, but right now she wanted to keep an eye on him.

"What are you up to?" Aria asked.

"Gee, I don't know, maybe I'm trying to search for the diamond," Grant said.

"You know, Muffy wanted to venture the castle with you Grant," Aria stated.

"She did?" Grant asked sadly. "Now I feel like a jerk for just running off on her."

"Why don't I take you to her," Aria said.

"No that's fine," Grant said. "I can find her myself."

Grant then ran past Aria and out of the room. Aria watched as Grant ran down the hall, obviously not in the direction Muffy and Wren were in.

"Hey! Grant!" Aria yelled. "Muffy's the other way!"

But Grant kept running. Aria decided to chase after Grant the best she could. Grant was a bit faster than her so it proved difficult, but she did what she could.

Meanwhile, Muffy and Wren were quietly walking down the hallway Jet went down. They were talking about the challenge at hand.

"Why do we need some dumb Jewel? Can't I just wallop him?" Muffy asked.

"I don't think the rules would allow it," Wren said.

"He'll breathe his fire right in my face, and I'll just march up to him and uppercut him!" Muffy said.

"Brave, but again the rules forbid it," Wren said.

Suddenly, they saw Kiki and Drenig charging out of each of the rooms. They were doing what's become the usual dueling business of theirs. Suddenly, they bumped into each other after coming out of separate rooms.

"Hey! Watch where you're going feather-head!" Drenig shouted.

Kiki quickly kicked Drenig's left leg. Drenig started to keel over.

"I'll watch where I'm going alright, crook-face!" Kiki shouted as she ran through the hall some more.

"Okay, I know you guys are trying not to like each other," Wren started. "But wasn't that a bit... too far?"

"No way, now she's gonna get it," Drenig stated before picking himself up and chasing after Kiki.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"...Okay, I am starting to not like where things are going with those two," Wren stated. "It feels like they're going to the extremes just to deny their friendship with each other. When in fact, they have become satellites to each other. I don't want to be rude, but it's getting old."

-After Confessional-

"Muffy don't want those two to fight," Muffy said.

"Me neither," Wren said. "But their fighting is getting too extreme."

Eventually, Kiki came across the flight of stairs Jet fell down. Kiki ignored them and ran past the steps. Drenig on the other hand decided it would be best to go down there.

"He he, stupid Kiki," Drenig said. "The treasure of the castle's always underground."

He rand down the steps to see Jet sprawling on the floor, still trying to get up. Drenig payed little attention and ran past.

"Oh, hi Jet," Drenig said as he ran past.

"Hi Jet?" Jet growled in anger as he ran past.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"I'm lying their in agony and that stupid pompadour-totting JERK just runs past!" Jet shouted. "He will completely rue that moment! RUE I SAY!"

-After Confessional-

Wren and Muffy got to the stairs and noticed Kiki and Drenig went two seperate ways. They were planning on which actions to take.

"Maybe we should split up," Wren said. "You go after Kiki, I'll follow Drenig."

"Okay," Muffy agreed before running past the rug.

Wren went after Drenig down the steps. He saw Jet still trying to get up as he ran past.

"Oh, hi Jet," Wren said as he ran past.

"Oh rue you too!" Jet cried. "That does it, no more mister nice frog! Ready or not, here I come!"

Jet finally recovered from his fall and started to hop off into the hall the stairs lead to. He was now determined to fight everyone else.

Grant was still searching the hallways for the gem. He also wanted to get away from Aria so he could execute his plan better. Suddenly, Grant came up to a room that seemed empty, but something seemed up.

"Hmmm, what an ominous looking room," Grant said. He almost stepped forward but stopped himself as he saw the floor. "Oh, a trap door. Peeeeerfect."

Grant quickly jumped across the trap door and into the dusty room. He then hid and lured Aria into the room. As expected, Aria approached the room. She looked around the room but did not see Grant. Then she entered the room and, boom! She immediately fell through the trap door.

"What the!" Aria cried as she fell through the hole into the basement floor below. She landed on a mattress that cushioned her fall, but now she couldn't track Grant for the time being.

"He he he, stupid little Malamar," Grant said as he jumped back across the trap door and went back through the hall.

Kiki was running around a branch connecting the two main halls, looking for a flight of stairs that would lead upstairs. Suddenly, Muffy caught up to her. That's when Muffy started to get frantic.

"Kiki, I'm glad I caught up with you, Muffy want's to talk," Muffy said.

"Aww, hello there Muffy," Kiki said. "What do you want to talk about."

"Muffy doesn't want you to fight with Drenig any longer," Muffy said. "No one likes how you two fight to hide the fact you like each other."

"Listen, Muffy," Kiki started. "I am sick and tired of everyone trying to pair us up like they think we absolutely have to become one with each other just because we're compatible with each other."

"No one's forcing you!" Muffy shouted. "It's in your head! It's in both of your heads! You just think it's being forced on you."

"I'm sure everything that happened was a coincidence," Kiki said. "That's why we tied the last challenge, continued bumping into each other the previous challenge, not to mention being paired up yesterday. Sure it's all in my head, and it's nothing to be concerned with."

"But Kiki..." Muffy started.

"Listen, I do not dislike Drenig," Kiki said. "But the more I tell myself I do, and the more he tells himself to dislike me, the more power we have over the show's dreadful curse, you get what I'm saying?"

Grant was walking through the hall where he finally saw Muffy. Grant entered a room close by to not be detected and then closed it behind him, finding whatever he could to block the door with so no one could get in.

"I'm telling you you are wrong," Muffy said. "At least think of the competitors around you."

"I know Team Mol-Tres as a whole probably doesn't approve of it," Kiki said. "But I don't approve of a forced relationship either."

"NO ONE'S FORCING A RELATIONSHIP!" Muffy screeched.

"You'd like to think that," Kiki said. "But too much has happened for it to be a coincidence."

"So... little pig." Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the room Grant was in. Grant sounded just like Aria. "You dabble in the dark arts too, so maybe we should join forces to destroy the competition."

"That's Aria's voice," Kiki said.

"I... I... maybe?" Grant said in his own voice. "But I don't know if your evil enough." He then switched voices. "Oh come on, you mean the time I vanquished Lilly wasn't enough?" He switched voices again. "You really did? But I thought you wanted to help Muffy." Then he did it again."Muffy is weak. I'm just playing her like a deck of cards." ...And again. "But you said you wanted to aid Lilly's wishes by being Muffy's friend." ...And yet again. "Ha! As if I actually wanted to aid her wishes. I hate her! Why would I want to aid her wishes?" ...and once more. "Woah, you're too evil for me. I don't want to be associated with a Malamar."

Muffy stopped and stared at the door. Her fists clenched in rage at what she heard.

"I knew it!" Muffy shouted. "I knew that Aria wasn't to be trusted!"

"Wait a minute... something seems odd," Kiki said.

"You don't want to join me you stupid Grumpig?" Grant said, pretending to be Aria. "You will pay for your insolence!" He switched voices one more time. "No!"

Suddenly, there was a crash inside the room. Grant then got rid of all the objects he put in front of the door and rushed out, closing the door behind him. That's when Muffy and Kiki saw him.

"We have to get out of here," Grant said. "Aria is evil! Muffy, Kiki, we have to go!"

Grant then ran away from the door. Muffy, being the gullible idiot that she was, followed Grant away from the door. Kiki, on the other hand, waited to investigate. She opened the door, looking inside and could not find Aria.

"Huh? She's not here?" Kiki said. Just then, she thought of something. Maybe she was waiting for Kiki to come in. "I better not go in further just in case what I heard was true." Eventually, Kiki ran towards Muffy and Grant.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Congratulations Muffy," Grant said. "You are now being pulled along by my Super Fishing Rod of ominous deception. MWAHAHAHA!"

-After Confessional-

Although it's only been several minutes into the challenge, no one has made much progress on finding the Diamond. Still, the race was heating up, as were emotions. Bertram was outside ready to cut to commercial.

"Well well well, Grant is quite the competitor, isn't he?" Bertram said to the camera. "I'm starting to like this episode already. Stick around viewers, there's more heated battles among Team Mol-Tres to come."

**-Denials and Betrayals-**

Down in the basement of the castle, Drenig stumbled upon a hall with many torture devices in them. Drenig couldn't help but comment them.

"Oh come on, Iron Maidens? Devouring chairs? Pears of anguish?" Drenig blurted to himself.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Now I'm no history buff," he said. "But I'm pretty sure the knights of old didn't actually have any of these torture devices in them. Of course that's only what I've read in daily gossip letters, I couldn't actually tell ya if that's true."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Wren caught up to Drenig. Wren's first instinct was to talk to him.

"Drenig, we need to talk about you and Kiki," Wren said.

"What's there to talk about?" Drenig asked. "We're rivals. Rivals fight with each other."

"Drenig, drop the act, we know what's really going on," Wren stated. "You two are way too obvious."

"Huh? Ay man, what makes you think it's anything else?" Drenig asked.

"You two are only fighting because you think the show is forcing you two to hook up," Wren mentioned. "It likely started when you two realized you actually DO like each other."

"How would you know if we liked each-other?" Drenig asked.

"Mostly a guess," Wren said. "Aria's kind of the one who brought it to my attention. She seems to think that it's common nature for people who like each other to bully each other."

"I never heard no logic like that!" Drenig shouted.

"Well is it true? And be perfectly honest with me," Wren said. "...Is it?"

"Well..." Drenig was actually about to tell Wren the truth until Jet busted into the dungeon and started ranting.

"What is wrong with you two!" Jet yelled. "You saw I was hurt and didn't do nothing!?"

"We didn't know," Wren said.

"That's complete Tauros excrement!" Jet shouted.

"To be fair, when was the last time you helped any of us?" Drenig asked.

"You're missing the point!" Jet shouted.

"He kind of stated the point," Wren said. "If we were in your shoes, you would have done jack."

"I would TOO have helped!" Jet shouted.

"Although then again, did that really make us any better Drenig?" Wren asked. "I know we don't like him, but maybe we should have helped him a bit."

"Dang straight!" Jet shouted.

"I guess, but... it's Jet we're talking about," Drenig said.

"But is it really a good thing for us not to help him just because he's mean?" Wren asked. "I mean, as long as someone isn't evil and can be helped, we really should have."

"Well..." Drenig tried so say something, but once again someone came up and interrupted. It was a rather angry Aria.

"Has any of you seen that conspicuous Grumpig anywhere?" Aria asked. "He's up to something, I know he is!"

"Argh! Too many distractions!" Drenig shouted.

"Sorry, I haven't seen him," Wren said, also a bit confused.

"Where could I have seen him?" Jet asked. "I could care less about him!"

Jet was sweating a bit. Aria started to sense that something was off.

"Well if you see him, interrogate him," Aria said. "He's floating around somewhere, I know he is, and he's hiding something!"

Aria then went off on her own account. She decided to try and find a way to get upstairs.

"And if you two don't mind, I have a challenge to win!" Jet shouted as he ran off down the dungeon.

This left Wren and Drenig in the torture room. Wren couldn't help but feel creeped out by the dungeon.

"Why did they put these iron maidens down here?" Wren asked. "Someone could get hurt."

But Drenig was still thinking of what Wren said earlier. He wanted to let his feelings out.

"Alright, listen little dude," Drenig started. "You are right, I do like Kiki. And you are right that we both bully each other because we want to fight the temptations set by the show. Still, I don't know how much longer I can keep up the whole charade."

"Maybe you and Kiki should talk about ending it," Wren suggested.

"Alright. Alright," Drenig decided. "But first I want to win the challenge."

"Okay, is it alright if I help you?" Wren asked.

"Ay don't suppose why not man," Drenig stated.

As Wren and Drenig explore the basement, Muffy, Kiki and Grant came to a crossroads in the castle. There was a flight of steps, another long hallway, and a big doorway outside the castle.

"What should we do now?" Muffy asked.

"Let's split up," Grant said. "I'll go upstairs, you search the hall, and Kiki goes through the doorway."

"Hmmmm, okay that sounds fine," Kiki said.

"And if you see Aria, run!" Grant exclaimed.

"Got it!" Muffy said as she ran down the hallway. Grant immediately climbed up the steps to the upper level of the castle. ...But Kiki didn't go through the doors. Instead she followed Grant. She was a bit... suspicious of him.

Muffy was running through the halls of the castle only to find out she was just heading back to the entrance. And what's more, Aria managed to find her in the same hallway. Muffy's first reaction was not a pleasant one.

"ARGH! Get away you evil creature!" Muffy shouted.

"Calm down, Muffy," Aria said. "I'm not evil or out to get you. Now where is Grant?"

"Why should I tell you!?" Muffy shouted. "So you can convince him to become a real villain like you!?"

"A what?" Aria asked in shock. "He's already started his evil plans, hasn't he?"

"Evil plans!? You're the one conspiring to have me kicked off!" Muffy shouted.

"That's absurd!" Aria proclaimed.

"You never wanted to aid Lilly's wishes at all! You just want to act like my friend so that you can kick me off just like you kicked off Lilly!" Muffy shouted.

"Grant told you that, didn't he?" Aria asked, a bit angry at the moment. "He's lying about me!"

"You told him yourself!" Muffy challenged.

"I did NOT!" Aria returned.

"You were talking to him in a dark room! You told him everything!" Muffy shouted.

"Muffy, I don't trust him," Aria stated. "If I had any evil intentions, which I don't, why would I tell Grant?"

"Enough!" Muffy shouted. "You can't lie your way out of this! Wren's going to hear about this, and you are on the next cargo truck home!"

"Muffy, I can't believe I'm saying this," Aria started. "But you are a fool! You are complete fool for putting your trust in that shifty Grumpig you think is your friend!"

"Quiet!" Muffy shouted.

Muffy ran past Aria and knocked her over as she ran down the hall. Aria was REALLY starting to get angry now.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I don't know what that worthless pile of bacon told Muffy, but she's eating it up like candy!" Aria shouted. "I don't care how well he got her, no one can be that gullible. When I find Grant, he is going to wish he was never born!"

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Grant was searching around in a royal bedroom chamber. He started to look around the room and noticed a bookshelf on the wall.

"Hmmm, why would there be a bookshelf in the bedroom?" Grant asked. "Seems... innocuous. ...Or does it?"

Meanwhile, Kiki had followed him all the way up there, and Grant didn't even notice. Grant was too busy pulling books around until eventually he pulled a book that allowed the bookshelf to swing open, revealing a secret room. Grant walked inside and saw a switch with a book-stand in front of it. Grant read the book out loud.

"This is one of two switches to the royal Escavalier's keep," He read. "This keep is located in the king's throne room across the royal garden. The keep lies under the royal throne which is much lighter that it appears. Just push the throne aside to reveal the path to the keep. However in order to access the keep's treasures, you must find and activate BOTH switches. Beware, the keep has its guardians who will protect the treasure from any trespassers. If you dare, press the switch now."

Without much hesitation, Grant stepped on the switch. As he did, Kiki couldn't help but smile inside. She krept back the way she came, off to find the royal gardens which were likely past the huge doorway.

...But as Kiki was going toward the garden, she ran into Aria. Another discussion commenced.

"Oh, so it's you," Kiki said.

"Oh, hello Aria. Have you seen Grant anywhere?" Aria asked.

"You mean after that incident in the dark room where you told him of your evil plans?" Kiki asked.

"Again with the accusations," Aria moaned. "Listen honey, that stupid little pig is putting the screws to me. Don't trust a word he says."

"Hold that thought, let's go somewhere more quiet," Kiki said as she lead Aria to a different location. "I want to talk to you in private."

Down in the dungeon, Jet was looking at a dead end in a path he took. Still something piqued his interest. The walls were made of brick, and a few of the bricks were indented.

"Why does this wall look so familiar?" Jet asked. "Like something out of a movie."

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"You know those dungeon crawler movies with the castles that have all those secret passages?" Jet asked. "Secret passages are initiated by switches indented in brick walls, a very common cliche. I don't think Bertram is trying hard enough with these challenges. ...But I guess if he got TOO creative, no one would figure it out."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, Jet started to feel around the wall for a switch. But after a few minutes, he started to pound away at the wall.

"Stupid wall! I know there's a switch here!" Jet cried. "Where's the switch! Aww, come on man! ...Did I just end a sentence with "man?" Ugh, don't make that a habit, Jet."

"What's your problem now?" Suddenly, Drenig and Wren appeared in the same area as Jet was in. Jet started to scramble for that button even harder.

"What, are you trying to look for a secret button or something?" Wren asked. "How do you know that wall even has one?

"I'm taking an educated guess," Jet answered.

"In other words you don't actually know," Wren asked.

"Well it's probably not there if you can't find it," Drenig mentioned.

"I'm going to look elsewhere," Wren said as he hopped off.

"I'm surprised you even figured out the whole secret switch business man," Drenig stated.

"Don't say "man!" Jet shouted. "You know how long I've had to put up with you saying that?"

"I... I just like saying it, man," Drenig said. "Why, does it bother you?"

"Yes!" Jet shouted. "It's annoying! Almost to the point where it gets stuck in my head and I end up saying it!"

"Yeah, almost," Drenig said with a smirk.

"I found something Drenig!" Wren shouted.

Immediately, Jet picked his body up and immediately bolted out of the dead end and past Drenig, rudley shoving him over. He then saw Wren being spun around with a chunk of wall until the wall closed and Wren was behind the wall. Apparently he found the secret wall.

"Hey! I found it first!" Jet yelled as he ran to the wall.

"...No you didn't," Drenig pointed out bluntly as he walked up to Jet. "And I would appreciate it if you watched where you were going."

"Coming from someone who wouldn't help me after falling down the steps!" Jet shouted.

Eventually, Wren came back out of the wall and ran towards Drenig. He found something out beyond the wall.

"Okay, I found something out about the castle's treasure," Wren said.

"Ay man, what?" Drenig asked.

"ARGH!" Jet shouted.

"What's his problem?" Wren asked. "Never mind, I'll tell you on the way upstairs. Follow me Drenig."

"Alright man, but I want to know sooner than later," Drenig stated.

Jet was really starting to fume right now. Eventually, he went over to the wall Wren was at, started to feel around for a button, and eventually found the magic switch that let him inside. That's where he found the description for the tomb and the switch much like the ones Grant found before.

Upstairs, Kiki had taken Aria to a location where she thought Grant could not find them. That was when she started their discussion.

"So," Kiki whispered. "Where were you hiding in that room?"

"What room?" Aria asked back.

"The one Grant burst out of before?" Kiki asked.

"That doesn't answer," Aria said back.

"Wait... you were in that room, weren't you?" Kiki asked.

"What room?" Aria reiterated.

"Me and Muffy heard you talking to Grant about evil plans and overthrowing Lilly and Muffy and what-have-you," Kiki brought up.

"I told you before sug'," Aria started. "Grant is trying to trick you. I wasn't talking to him about evil plans. I was following him all around the castle trying to keep an eye on him, and then I fell through a trap door. After that I lost track of him."

"And this started?" Kiki asked.

"Ever since we got here," Aria stated.

Kiki looked at Aria for a moment, examining her face carefully. Something didn't seem right.

"...You don't seem to be lying," Kiki mentioned. "But if that wasn't you in the room, then who was it?"

"I still don't know what room," Aria reiterated.

"Never mind, the point is I believe you," Kiki said. "I think something might be up with that Grant character."

"I just wish Muffy would figure that out," Aria said. "I tried talking to her, but no matter what she bought into Grants lies."

"Maybe we should watch Grant closely," Kiki suggested.

"That's what I've been doing all day," Aria said.

With that, Aria and Kiki were currently teamed up. But would they find out about Grant's deadly secrets?

Meanwhile, Grant had made his way to the royal garden where he quickly ran through it to get to the King's throne room. The garden was very pretty, but Grant took no time to admire it. He had his eyes on the prize. Eventually, he entered the throne room. He noticed no one was there.

"Hmmm, I wonder if the others are still searching," Grant said as he went to the throne and started pushing it.

Eventually, he knocked the throne over and found a secret flight of steps. He couldn't help but laugh as he went down. Of course, he only knew his switch was pressed. He didn't know if the other one was, but he went down to check anyway. ...But what would Grant find down there. Would he realize the quest set by the mission? Or would he only find doom and gloom down there.

**-Fairies Best Friend-**

As Wren and Drenig were running up the steps, they eventually ran into Muffy. Muffy seemed very angry.

"Wren! Drenig! Aria is evil!" Muffy shouted.

"...No way," Wren said. "Why would she be evil?"

"I heard her with my own two ears!" Muffy said. "She said she wanted to get rid of me just like she got rid of Lilly!"

"You're kidding!" Wren shouted.

"No! She even tried to convert Grant to her side," Muffy cried.

"Wait, the kid who is already evil?" Drenig asked. "Sounds fishy."

"He's not evil! He just likes acting that way," Muffy said. "He's a good kid deep down."

"Yeah, Drenig. He actually is a pretty nice kid," Wren said. "And Muffy doesn't seem lik the kind who would lie to me."

"She probably is looking for the gem now!" Muffy shouted. "We have to..."

"Scuse me, coming through!" Eventually they all turned around and saw Jet hopping their way.

"Jet! Aria is evil!" Muffy shouted.

"Don't care! My eye's on the prize!" Jet shouted as he ran off to look for the gem. That's when the other group started to kick it into gear.

"We have to find that gem too," Wren said. "Come on!"

As they chased Jet down the hall, Wren was trying to keep up. But suddenly, Wren ran into an open door. Out of the open door popped Kiki and Aria. Of course, Muffy stopped to scream.

"ARGH! Kiki, get away from her!" Muffy shouted.

"Calm down, Muffy," Kiki said. "She's not out to get you or anyone else."

"But you were there!" Muffy shouted.

"Yes I was, but I notice one person was NOT there at the time," Kiki said. "Aria herself was absent from the scene."

"No... Kiki, she hypnotized you!" Muffy shouted. "Snap out of it Kiki!"

"Pipe down! No one's hypnotized!" Aria shouted. "And besides that, if Kiki was hypnotized, why would she be talking in a multi-tone voice? Hypnotized victims ALWAYS talk in a mono-tone voice."

"But how would you know, Kiki?" Muffy asked. "Do you know for sure?"

"While I can't be too sure," Kiki started. "I talked to Aria about it, and she SEEMS to be telling the truth on the matter. She said she'd never even been in the room. She didn't even know which room we were talking about. So either she's a really good liar or she's innocent."

"But the voice!" Muffy exclaimed.

"I can't explain it either," Kiki said. "That's the one piece of the puzzle that doesn't fit."

"In any case, we should get going to the garden," Drenig said. "Also, I want to talk to you on the way there, Kiki."

"Why should I talk to you?" Kiki asked. "I hate you."

As they were walking down the halls, the conversation went on. Drenig wanted to end the fight now.

"Alright, Kiki, I just want to say... maybe our rivalry is going a bit too far, maybe we should just let it up," Drenig said.

"Rivalry? Too far? We're enemies," Kiki said as they got to the garden.

"No Kiki, we're not," Drenig stated. "We're only pretending to be because, well, we feel like the show is forcing us to hook up. ...But maybe it's in our head."

"Which is what I was trying to tell you earlier," Muffy stated.

"I agree, maybe you two should are trying too hard," Aria said. "Maybe it's best to just accept that you two are friends and leave it at that."

"...Alright," Kiki said. "Maybe we were both getting carried away. It's easier to say you're wrong when you're surrounded by beautiful flowers."

"Yeah, they are pretty," Wren said.

"So... wanna just be friends? Maybe even go with it Kiki?" Drenig asked.

"Well... alright," Kiki said. Eventually the two went up to each other and shook claws. They seemed happy with each other.

"Oh, and by the way," Drenig started. "I'm starting to get this really nasty itch on my back, could you scratch my back please?"

As Drenig turned around, Kiki started to feel skeptical. She's never had to do something like that for someone.

"Ummm, okay," Kiki said as she went up to Drenig and started scratching. Drenig had his tail curled up at the time. And then, all of a sudden, Drenig flicked his tail right into Kiki's hip, sending her off to the side.

"And by the way, now we're even," Drenig said.

"What was THAT for!?" Kiki shouted.

"Yeah, what was that for?" Aria asked.

"Oh I'm sorry, I believe you recall kicking me in the leg earlier?" Drenig stated.

"You didn't want to become friends! You just wanted revenge for a past incident!" Kiki shouted.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Ugh! And here I thought Drenig was actually a sweetheart deep down!" Kiki shouted. "He's almost as bad as Jet!"

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"What? She started it," Drenig said. "I know that's still no reason for what I just did, but sometimes emotions like small revenge are hard to shake off. After all, we're only mortals, aren't we?"

-After Confessional-

"Listen, neither of you guys were in the right," Wren said.

"You stay out of it!" Kiki and Drenig yelled in unison. "STOP COPYING ME!"

"You just another jerk like Riley was!" Kiki shouted.

"Okay, I admit that wasn't my proudest moment," Drenig said. "But my knee still hurts!"

"You deserved it!" Kiki shouted.

"You came out of nowhere with that kick you brute," Drenig shouted.

"That's it! I will make sure you are voted out today!" Kiki shouted.

"Same here, I'll have YOU voted out!" Drenig shouted back.

"That way we can PROVE we're not love interests!" Kiki shouted.

"Guys? Guys?" Muffy asked.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"What did I get myself into by coming to Quarantine?" Muffy asked. "First someone reveals their betrayal to me, and now two best friends are at each others throats! Muffy really wants to cry right now."

-After Confessional-

Down in the tomb, Grant was walking through the hall of the tomb. He walked quietly along, watching the floors for any traps. Suddenly, he found one: a tripwire attached to a pinton.

"Too obvious Bertram," Grant said as he pulled the pinton out of the ground and pulled the trip wire out of the wall.

Suddenly, a big pendulum swung right in front of Grant. Grant didn't seem intimidated by it at all, as it was just a big inflatable rubber ball attacked to a pole.

"Hmmm, this trip wire might come in handy later," Grant said to himself.

Eventually he walked back down the halls until he got to a nicely sized doorway. But inside the doorway you could see something pink and shiny. It could only have been Diance's Diamond.

"It's mine... All mine," Grant said. "All I have to do is take it and..."

But suddenly, he was pounced on from behind. Jet had gotten to the tomb as well, and Jet was going so fast that he didn't even notice Grant till he smacked into him.

"Dang! What a doozie," Jet said. "I didn't even see you there. It's kind of dark in here."

"You will not impede on my plans for domination, Jet," Grant said. "But anyway, my plans on getting rid of Aria are at hand."

"Why not Drenig?" Jet asked. "I keep telling you I want HIM gone."

"Aria is much more dangerous to our plan," Grant said. "She is onto me, and is on the verge of putting an end to my tyranny. Drenig on the other hand has no idea. BUT if I can turn her friends against her she's history. But this plan involves me getting immunity."

"But if I don't get immunity, they might vote me off," Jet said.

"Don't worry, I'll just shift the attention away from you," Grant said.

"Go on," Jet said.

"You may also recall that Kiki and Drenig are being a little bit loud today," Grant said. "Their bickering is bound to distract them from the real threat of the game: Us."

"...Okay," Jet said.

"And right now, Muffy and Kiki think Aria is evil, so they may try to vote for her. Trust me, focus will not be on you today."

"I don't know," Jet said, hiding under the shadow of doubt.

"I said trust me," Grant said. "I am smarter than I look. Now let's hurry and get the gem. They could be here any minute."

As Grant and Jet tried to go through the doorway, they were quickly stopped. As soon as they reached the door, a pair of lances shot out in front of the door in an X. When Grant and Jet looked up, they saw giant statues in the shape of and Jet looked kind of scared as they saw the giant statues.

Back with the others, they were still arguing. Drenig and Kiki just said they wanted to kick each other off. At this point, the others were rather on board.

"You want to be voted off?" Aria asked. "You got it! With the way you two have been acting, you've become beyond help, so maybe we SHOULD!"

"NO! She's at it again!" Muffy cried. "She's trying to get people voted off!"

"Would you stop with this crazed assumption I'm conspiring to kick anyone off!?" Aria shouted. "I just cannot believe it! I've tried to be your friend since Lilly was exiled, and no matter what, you refuse to trust me, yet you trust that stupid pig!"

"He's not stupid, he's nice!" Muffy shouted.

"To be fair, Aria, Grant does have a better grasp at being, well... friendlier than you," Wren stated.

"I can too be friendly!" Aria shouted.

"Ugh, you losers can duke it out, I'm after the gem!" Kiki shouted.

"I'll get it first!" Drenig shouted.

But the minute they started to run into the throne room, Grant came running out. He did NOT seem to be very confident right now. In fact, he seemed scared out of his wits at that moment.

"Escavaliers!" Grant exclaimed. "Run!"

"Ugh, I'm not letting him out of my sight this time," Aria shouted as she went after him.

"Escavaliers!? That's it!?" Kiki shouted. "What a wimp!"

"Uhhh, to be fair, not everyone is a fire type," Drenig stated.

"Don't even start with me, crock-face!" Kiki shouted.

As Drenig and Kiki ran into the throne room and down to the tomb, Wren and Muffy were still there. Muffy kept looking between the throne room and back at the castle, not sure what to do.

"Come on, Muffy," Wren said. "Let's go get the gem."

But Muffy ran off. She ran back into the castle to chase after Aria.

"Muffy! Where are you going!?" Wren shouted. Now Wren was at a loss for what to do. With quick thinking, Wren ran after Muffy.

Aria was in the halls, trying to keep an eye on Grant. Suddenly, Muffy called out to Aria.

"You are not hurting my friend!" Muffy shouted as she ran after Aria.

"Are you that shallow?" Aria asked. Since she couldn't outrun Muffy or Grant, she stayed put. "Grant is not your friend! If anything, HE is the one conspiring against you!"

"Grant would never do that!" Muffy shouted.

"Are you an idiot, or just pretending to be one!?" Aria shouted. "Yesterday, the herb incident! Tell me you didn't find ANYTHING suspicious about that!"

"No, I did not!" Muffy shouted.

"Okay, what happened when I banned Grant from the kitchen?" Aria asked. "We had no problems then!"

"So what!?" Muffy shouted.

"I've tried to be your friend, Muffy!" Aria shouted right as Wren showed up. "But it's obvious you don't want to be mine. You'd rather be friends with that worthless conniving pork slab!"

"You're the one who's worthless!" Muffy shouted. "I heard what you said! Why do you even bother trying to go back on it?"

"Oh, you're so right Muffy," Aria stated. "It's so true, I tried to conspire against you to have you kicked off! And Wren's going to be next! And you know I'm telling the truth now because I just said I plan on having Wren eliminated when he's right there!"

"Guys... why do we have to fight?" Wren said.

"She just admitted she was conspiring against us!" Muffy shouted.

"I was JOKING!" Aria shouted. "Who in their right mind would say they're conspiring to vote someone off knowing full well that person is right in earshot?"

"You just won't give up, will you?" Muffy asked.

"That's it!" Aria shouted. "No, I am NOT conspiring the have you voted off, BUT I'm done trying to be your friend Muffy! You are a lost cause!"

With that, Aria went off on her own to go look for Grant. Meanwhile, Muffy was on the verge of crying. Wren was there to comfort her.

"Lost cause?" Muffy cried. "I'm not a lost cause."

"There there, Muffy," Wren said. "Aria's just a little frustrated. I'm sure she didn't mean that. ...Right?"

"You weren't there when she said the things she did," Muffy said.

"I know, but that just doesn't seem like something Aria would have done," Wren said. "I'm not sure, but maybe there's more to the story."

"Waaaaaaaah! Aria's a bully!" Muffy cried.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I don't know what to think at this point," Wren said. "Should I believe Aria, or should I believe Muffy? Me and Aria have been friends since Stawolt left. ...But Muffy just seems overall more friendly. ...I don't know what to do at this point."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Drenig and Kiki were down in the tomb where they saw Jet jumping around trying to get past the Escavaliers. He seemed to have been doing a decent job.

"Ha! That all you got?" Jet asked right before jumping through the lances to get to the gem. "It takes more than that to stop me!"

Jet then grabbed Diance's Diamond and then slid right under the Escavaliers lances before hoping off down the tomb. ...That was where he saw Kiki and Drenig.

"Not so fast, Jet!" Kiki shouted.

"You'll have to get through me first!" Drenig shouted.

"No! Me!" Kiki shouted.

"No problem!" Jet Exclaimed as he got a hopping start and then tried to jump over them.

Kiki did a backflip behind Drenig while Drenig stood ground. Jet jumped right above Drenig's head. ...But Drenig grabbed his legs, stopping him from going far. Meanwhile, Kiki took the gem right out of Jet's hands.

"Awww, how kind of you two," Kiki said as she ran off with the gem. All the way up to the throne room.

"What? HEY!" Drenig and Jet both said as they started running after her. Drenig still had a hold on Jet, and was slowing Jet down a bit, which meant neither really had a good shot of catching up since Drenig was slower than Kiki and Jet was trying to escape from Drenig, who wanted to catch Kiki first.

Meanwhile, Grant was at the big doorway to the garden. He planted the pinton into some loose tiling on the ground near the doorway and stretched it out near him. He made sure the pinton was firmly in the ground before going to the other side of the doorway with the tripwire. It wasn't long before Kiki came out with the diamond.

"Huh, those losers haven't caught up to me yet?" Kiki asked herself. "Wow, I thought Drenig and Jet would be better rivals than that. Ha!"

But as Kiki got to the doorway, she did not see Grant's tripwire. As a result, she tripped and fell. In the process, she even dropped the gem outward.

"Special delivery," Grant said before he went out to pick up the Diance's Diamond.

Grant started running through the hall until eventually he saw Aria in the hall. To make matters worse, Kiki was gaining on him too.

"Alright Grant, I've had enough of you!" Aria shouted as she stood in his way.

"Muffy! Help!" Grant called out.

As luck would have it for Grant, Muffy and Wren were nearby where Aria was. Muffy saw Grant and heard his cry for help. Muffy instantly tackled Aria to the ground, allowing Grant to run by.

"Thanks Muffy, I owe you one," Grant said as he ran past.

"Argh! You fool!" Aria shouted.

"Muffy, what's gotten into you?" Kiki asked.

"I'm trying to help my friend," Muffy said.

"I don't know if he really is your friend," Kiki stated.

"Don't bother talking to her," Aria stated. "Muffy's an idiot!"

"I am NOT an idiot!" Muffy cried.

"...You kind of are," Kiki stated.

There was nothing stopping Grant from delivering the Diamond the Bertram. With Aria and Kiki out of the way, Grant b-lined to the front of the castle and was free to give the diamond to Bertram.

"Here you are lord Bertram," Grant said as he knelt down and presented the diamond.

"Well, I've never been called "lord" before," Bertram said "And with Diance's Diamond in hand, you have official gained immunity for today."

"Mwahahahaha! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Grant cackled. Eventually Bertram started to laugh along with Grant.

Eventually, the others found their way out of the castle and saw Grant and Bertram together. It looked like they were ready to go home. Except Grant had one request.

"By the way lord Bertram, is it possible if I were to receive another prize?" Grant asked. "Like, say... another smoothie?"

"Oh, umm sure my subject," Bertram said. "Any kind in particular like an Occacheri smoothie or a Pinapstarf smoothie or even a Pomegbluk smoothie?"

"Ooh, Occacheri sounds good," Grant said. "But one more request, is it alright if my friend Muffy has one too?"

Muffy's face light up in delight as Grant thought of her. Aria couldn't help but roll her eyes. She knew he was just buttering her up.

"Well... she didn't win," Bertram said. "I don't know..."

"That's not good?" Grant asked. "Fine, she can have my Occacheri smoothie."

"Are... are you sure?" Bertram asked. "Well... okay."

"Awww, thanks Grant!" Muffy cried out.

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"Ugh, as much as I hate to say it, Grant's good," Aria said. "I don't mean he's a good guy, I mean he's good at manipulating people. Muffy may or may not be an idiot, but she's still a fool."

-After Confessional-

"I just have one last question," Wren blurted out. "...Did any of us actually use our Itemfinders?"

"No," was the resounding answer from the team.

With the diamond in hand, Team Mol-Tres returned to their bunkers. But there were still matters to attend to, like who would be sent home today. But that would come later in the evening.

**-The Fight-**

Back at team Mol-Tres bunkers, Kiki and Drenig were going at each other. Both were yelling about how much they supposedly hated each other.

"Ugh, thanks to you I lost!" Drenig shouted.

"I cost you the victory!?" Kiki shouted back. "You're just jealous cause I'm better than you!"

"You ARE NOT and NEVER WILL BE!" Drenig roared!

"UGH! You are SO voted out!" Kiki shouted. "And believe me, you have a LOT more enemies than I do!"

"I can make allies easier than you man!" Drenig countered.

"I'm NOT a man! I'M A JUDO QUEEN!" Kiki shouted.

Meanwhile, Muffy was trying her hardest to enjoy her shake. She was even sitting with her two best friends Wren and Grant.

"Thanks for letting me have this smoothie Grant," Muffy said. "Want a sip?"

"Actually, I bet Wren would like one more," Grant said.

"That's very kind of you," Wren said.

But suddenly, he was interrupted. Aria had put his tentacle on his shoulder and shook her face.

"No, don't drink that smoothie," Aria said. "He's trying to butter you up just like he did with Muffy."

"Okay, but why can't I drink it?" Wren asked.

"I think you're just jealous cause you're going home today," Grant said. "After everything you said, you deserve it."

"Why you little PUNK!" Aria shouted. "If I can PROVE you're framing me, you will suffer the burden of your regrets."

She then turned her attention to Muffy. She had something rather important to say.

"And as for YOU Muffy," Aria started. "The last bit of respect I have for you will go towards NOT voting for you! Hopefully tonight you may realize that Grant's been lying to you the entire time."

"Aria, give it up," Muffy said. "Your desperation will get you nowhere."

"Wren, help me out," Aria said in a bit of a whiny tone.

"I... I... I don't know the details," Wren said. "I wasn't there."

"Wren, I've been your friend ever since Stawolt got eliminated," Aria said. "Heck I even made it my duty to remember the name Stawolt"

"I just don't know," Wren said.

"Please, don't vote for me this evening," Aria said. "You know I've never lied to you."

"I said beat it, Aria!" Muffy shouted.

"You did NOT tell me to beat it, you said give up the "desperation" that I'm not even using," Aria mentioned.

"Well Muffy's saying it now, BEAT IT!" she shouted.

"Pa-thetic," Grant commented.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"It's no use Aria," Grant said. "I'm so much more friendly and likeable than you. You have nowhere to turn anymore. Ha! First Abigale, then Ruce, and now you!"

-Confessional Session(Aria)-

"I may not know for sure what you've done," Aria said. "But surely my gospel group does. You're forgetting you are on TV, and the enemies you make on the show will multiply the enemies you make in real life. And you are making lots of real-life enemies."

-After Confessional-

Kiki and Drenig were still bickering. Jet was nearby and he couldn't really stand it.

"You're going to get less votes than me!" Kiki shouted.

"No way, YOU'RE going home!" Drenig shouted back.

"I already said I'm on team Kiki," Jet said.

"Fine for you, but I still got Wren and his friends," Drenig said as he went over to them. "Please guys, we need to end that fried chicken's chain of slaughter. Please guys, do it for your old pal Drenig?"

"We... aren't that connected with you," Grant said.

"I'm already voting for someone else!" Muffy shouted.

"And I have too much respect in her right now," Aria stated. "We were going to interogate Grant."

"No... Awww man," Drenig started to sweat.

"What's the matter? Worried you might go home?" Drenig asked.

"Sorry Drenig, but better you than me," Aria said.

"No way! YOU are going home Aria!" Muffy shouted.

Kiki watched the situation unfold. She was unsure what to feel at the moment. Was Drenig really her enemy?

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"This is your name on my vote-slip Drenig," Kiki shouted. "Soon I will be one step closer to my dream. And actually, it's kind of the same dream as Muffy's right now is to put an end to bullying through self defense. I do also plan to donate to charities like feeding the poor and helping honest businesses like Bigboss Motors. ...Bigboss Motors?"

Kiki had the slip in her hand. She showed immediate signs of regret. But she threw it in the box anyway.

"I'm sorry, but to end this curse, this is goodbye," Kiki stated.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"This is all going to come down to my vote, isn't it?" Wren asked. "Aria's been my friend for a long time, but... I don't know if I trust her right now. Aria doesn't seem like the type to lie, but neither does Grant or Muffy. Maybe she CAN'T be trusted. Then again, Kiki and Drenig are going too far with their rivalry, and Drenig has a grater chance of going home than Kiki. ...I don't know what to do."

He took a slip of paper, he took a pen, and then he just wrote a name down. He didn't show the name, he put it in the box.

-After Confessional-

At the Quarantine ceremony there were TWO nervous individuals on the chopping block. Aria is being accused of conspiracy against fellow Mol-Tres team mates, and Drenig's rivalry with Kiki is getting him no friends.

"So we have SEVEN left," Bertram stated before he handed out the milk. "But soon there will be a mere six left hope you've all got used to the milk by now."

Kiki watched Drenig the whole time. She was really feeling guilty about her choice.

"If there's no further questions, I will begin by saying who is safe," Bertram said. "Grant, you are safe."

"Excellent," Grant responded.

"Wren, Muffy, you are both safe," Bertram stated.

"Yay!" they said in unison.

"...Am I reading these votes right?" Bertram asked. "Jet, you are actually safe without immunity this time."

"Ha!" Jet exclaimed as he looked over at Grant. Grant gave him a wink back.

"Finally, Kiki is safe as well," Bertram stated.

Kiki remained silent. She was still regretting what she was doing.

"Well, here we are at last," Bertram said. "Will it be Drenig, or Aria?" He then went over to Aria and stared her down. "Will it be Aria, who feels like her friends might be turning on her?"

"Especially since I did nothing wrong!" Aria raved.

"And Drenig, it looks like your heated rivalry is giving everyone a migraine," Bertram said. "How do you feel?"

"Well..." Drenig started. "I feel..."

"Stop!" Everyone looked at Kiki right now. "I'm sorry, this fake rivalry of ours has gone too far."

"Kiki..." Drenig seemed a bit sad as well.

"The idea of having us be together against our will made us both angry," Kiki said. "So we tried to hate each other."

"Kiki, no one was forcing you two to be together," Bertram said. "It was all in your head."

"I... I wish we realized that sooner," Kiki said. "Bertram, I quit. I forfeit the compotition."

"But Kiki..." Bertram started.

"No!" Kiki shouted. "Drenig shouldn't go home because of me. I should have stopped myself sooner."

Kiki then went over to Drenig and hung her head. She had her claws in the back of her body at the time.

"I'm sorry for kicking you Drenig," Kiki stated.

"And I'm sorry for flicking my tail at you," Drenig said.

"...Actually, you already drank the milk, so you can't forfeit," Bertram said. "And besides that, Drenig isn't going home either, because with a three to four verdict, Drenig has been spared from elimination."

"What!?" Aria shouted before she looked at Wren in disgust. "Wren! I trusted you!"

"I... forgive me Aria," Wren said. "I didn't know what to think about you. I... just went with my gut on the matter. Nothing personal."

"You rat!" Aria shouted. "You are being played for a chump! Grant is playing all of you like a fiddle!"

"Sorry Aria, but that's how things go," Bertram said as he grabbed Aria's tentacles and started hauling her off.

"No! This isn't the end Grant!" Aria shouted. "People WILL know of your actions! You will rue this day!"

Grant just sat there with an evil smirk on his face. He was just rubbing the salt in her flesh wounds.

"Well go on. Start ruing!" Aria shouted.

"Are you crazy!" Bertram shouted. "Do you want to get sued for copyright infringement!?"

"Mark my words, Grant!" Aria shouted as she was thrown in the chamber. "You will regret your actions!"

Wren watched in horror as his friend was covered in the green mist. Wren had a feeling that, maybe, he had made the wrong choice. But then again, with how the Kiki/Drenig relationship was turning out, maybe not. But soon, the smoke cleared and Aria was gone.

"...What have I done," Wren said to himself.

Over with Kiki and Drenig, Kiki started to smile. Drenig started to smile back.

"You... You didn't vote for me?" Kiki asked.

"No I didn't," Drenig said. "I just couldn't do it. Deep beneath our recent actions, I still like you as a friend Kiki, and I just didn't feel right to vote for you. ...That and I would have been throwing away my vote anyway."

"Thanks... I guess," Kiki said. Kiki started to blush before she held her claw out. "You wanna be friends? And for real this time?"

"Ay, let's just be good friends," Drenig said before he shook Kiki's claw. ...When suddenly, Kiki pecked Drenig in the face. "Ay, what was that for?"

"That... was just a friendly kiss," Kiki said. "I... have never done that before. I forgot birds have sharp beaks."

"...Oh, that was just it?" Drenig said. Suddenly, Drenig kissed Aria back. Wren, Grant and Muffy let out a resounding "Awww."

"Well, very touching," Bertram said. "But now you guys should go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."

Eventually the contestants went down to the Mol-Tres bunker. Kiki and Drenig held claws the entire time. Maybe a relationship WAS brewing between the two.

"Ugh, finally rid of that yammering squid," Bertram said as he turned to the camera. "Well, six contestants left, and five episodes to go. Bertram would like to thank you for sticking with us after yesterday's episode, we hope you were much more satisfied with this one. But now it is time to say goodbye for now. Tune in next time for the battle against the mighty dragon Gola. We shall meet again.

**-Next Time on Quarantine-**

_"Please welcome back... Stronghold."_

_Competitors tackle the dragon stronghold in order to fight Gola._

_"They will be burnt where they stand!"_

_With Diance's Diamond in hand, competitors will be able to finally defeat him._

_"Time to relive my mech training."_

_...With glass cannonballs filled with potion?_

_"You're forgetting Gola and his henchmen are zombies._

_With only six competitors left, the competition gets even hotter._

_"I will take one of you down with me!"_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Tanks in Advance._


	14. Chapter 14: Tanks In Advance

Episode 14: Tanks in Advance.

_**-Last Time On Quarantine-**_

_"__**YOU FOOL!**__ NEVER shout your weaknesses no matter where you are!"_

_The contestants were sent on ANOTHER exploration mission to a castle._

_"But this time you are all on your own."_

_This time it was to find a rare gem known as Diance's Diamond._

_"Just rush in and find the gem!" _

_The contestants had to fight through traps..._

_"Oh come on, Iron Maidens? Devouring chairs? Pears of anguish?"_

_...conspiracies..._

_"You're the one conspiring to have me kicked off!"_

_"That's absurd!"_

_...rivalries..._

_"You didn't want to become friends! You just wanted revenge for a past incident!"_

_...and guardians._

_"Ha! That all you got? It takes more than that to stop me!"_

_Grant got immunity, and Drenig and Aria were on the chopping block._

_"Drenig shouldn't go home because of me. I should have stopped myself sooner."_

_Thanks to Grant's evil actions, Aria was sent home and Drenig was spared elimination._

_"Mark my words, Grant! You will regret your actions!"_

_We started with eighteen, and now only a mere third of those eighteen remain. And now, it's time to start Quarantine._

**-We Can't Go On Together With Suspicious Minds-**

Deep below the peninsula, Dagger Eyes was talking to Medulla about his potions factory. Medulla still seemed scared after yesterday.

"You haven't forgotten your fate, have you?" Dagger Eyes asked. "As useless as you are, I still need someone to maintain the potion factory. How high is our stock?"

"It looks like fifty-billion cases so far," Medulla said.

"WHAT!?" Dagger Eyes shouted. "That's quite a lot. Will we even need that much?"

"Not likely," Dagger Eyes said. "However it never hurts to have extra zombie potions on hand in case if, you know, something happens."

"Maybe you are not so useless after all," Dagger Eyes said. "Okay, return to your duties. But first, bring in Gola."

"Yes Mr. Dagger Eyes sir," Medulla said before rushing out of the room. Eventually, Gola came in, looking confident as ever.

"Something you needed from me Master Dagger Eyes?" Gola asked.

"Not much, just a few questions," Dagger Eyes said. "I just wanted to clarify, what was that device that made you strong?"

"The Lapis Lazuli of Lugia," Gola said.

"Good, and what gem is said to drain your power again?" Dagger Eyes asked.

"The Diance's Diamond," Gola clarified.

"And what did I tell you not to do?" Dagger Eyes asked.

"What happened!?" Gola yelled, obviously getting the point of what Dagger Eyes was trying to do.

"THEY FOUND THAT GEM!" Dagger Eyes roared. "RIGHT AFTER I TOLD YOU NEVER TO SAY YOUR WEAKNESSES!"

"How is that possible!? How did they know? How did YOU know?" Gola asked.

"Our hiding place for the gem is GONE!" Dagger Eyes stated. "I mean the gem is gone from our hiding place. WHATEVER! This whole place is bugged! Bertram is listening to our every word! Why do you think he's ALWAYS a step ahead of us!?"

"But he's just a Bibarel!" Gola shouted. "He is NOTHING compared to us! How is he listening in on us!?"

"Are you def!?" Dagger Eyes yelled. "THIS WHOLE PLACE IS BUGGED! There's NOWHERE we can speak in private!"

"What!? I'll destroy that barf-brained beaver where he stands!" Gola yelled. "It's time to assemble the troops!"

"And hurry! He probably knows about THAT too!" Dagger Eyes suggested. "Oh I hate Bertram. I will have him destroyed if it's the last thing I do!"

"I'll make sure to get my troops assembled as soon as possible," Gola said. "I still have many zombies on board AND my army of dragons at my base. We sill set forth by morning. They will be burnt where they stand!"

"You better hope so," Dagger Eyes said. "One more screw-up, and you are history."

"Right where they stand, Dagger Eyes," Gola reiterated. "Right where they stand."

Back at the bunker, Wren was having a hard nights sleep. He still wondered if he had made the right choice to vote for Aria. He felt were it not for him, his friend would still be here. And what about Grant? Was he more trustworthy? And what about Muffy? What if SHE was to blame as well.

"No! Aria forgive me!" Wren cried out into the night. "I was having a moment of doubt, I still want to be friends! No! Not the Superpower!"

Everyone awoke once Wren started shouting out in his sleep. He was having a nightmare that caused him to fall out of bed.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Wren screamed.

"Wren! Wren! Wake up!" The first one to run over there was Kiki. She was one of the only ones who doubted the situation and Aria's betrayal, so she was the one who ended up having the most sympathy for him. Even Muffy didn't want to go near him.

"Huh? What's going on?" Wren asked before he lied up. "Oh, I was just... having a bad dream. Hi Kiki."

"Listen, I know you feel guilty but that is natural," Kiki said.

"Eh? Ay, what's he feel guilty about?" Drenig asked.

"I... I feel like I just done something terribly wrong," Wren stated. "Aria was my friend, yet I voted her off cause I didn't trust her."

"Ay can't say I know all the details," Drenig stated. "But I'm always willing to help ya out if you need it, man."

"We can all help," Kiki said. "Me, Drenig, and possibly Muffy."

"He has no reason to feel guilty," Muffy said. "He did the right thing by voting off Aria because she is a horrible creature."

"Gee, thanks for the help Muffy!" Kiki shouted.

"Ay, don't you think you're being harsh?" Drenig asked.

"...Maybe," Kiki said. "But don't forget that you still have friends."

"We can always be your friends, Wren," Drenig stated.

"It's nice to know you two are friends, but... what about Grant?" Wren asked.

"Grant? Oh, he is a good kid," Kiki said before nudging Drenig.

"Yeah, heart of gold there," Drenig stated.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I don't want Grant to know I'm suspicious of him," Kiki said. "So I told a little lie to Wren. Though I should probably get Wren alone and tell him how I really feel."

-After Confessional-

"Maybe you should take a shower," Kiki mentioned. "You might feel better after a hot shower."

"And there is that hot-tub we won before the merge," Drenig stated.

"Wow, I forgot we had the hot-tub," Wren said.

"I didn't even know," Muffy said.

"Yeah, why are we just hearing about it?" Jet asked.

"Cause it was a prize given to the old Team Zap-Dos," Kiki said.

"That's me, Kiki and Wren," Drenig said.

"I want a hot-tub," Jet whined.

"No one's stopping you from using it," Wren stated.

"Don't mind if I do," Jet said before rushing out to the hot tub.

After Jet left, Wren hopped over to the door. He was considering Kiki's suggestion.

"That's a good idea Kiki," Wren said before hopping through the door to the bathroom.

Kiki looked in the room and saw Muffy, Grant, herself and Drenig were left in the room, but Grant was still sleeping. Kiki decided to whisper in Drenig's ear.

"How's about we take a shower too?" Kiki asked.

"Uhhh, okay," Drenig agreed. "But why? I don't get it."

"You'll see," Kiki said as she and Drenig went out of the room.

Eventually, they all met up in the bathroom where Wren was already taking a shower in the first stall. Kiki and Drenig entered the first and second stall. As they pulled the curtains back, all you could see where their silliouettes behind the curtains, which was nice of Bertram to give them that sense of privacy. That's when they started talking.

"Alright, I called you two here for a reason," Kiki stated. "I wanted to talk about Grant."

"Yeah, what about him?" Drenig asked.

"Grant has to go," Kiki said. "I talked to Aria about what I heard yesterday and she swears she didn't say the things me and Muffy heard her say."

"Are you saying Aria was innocent?" Wren asked.

"I'm saying I have a sneaking suspicion she was," Kiki said. "I looked inside the room Aria was supposedly talking to Grant in and found no one else in the room. Granted I didn't look very hard, but still."

"And what else pertains the situation?" Wren asked.

"The fact that I talked to Aria about it, and when Aria spoke she seemed to be completely honest," Kiki said.

"How could you tell?" Drenig asked.

"Look,our dojo also takes courses in reading your opponents mind through their face and actions," Kiki stated. "Aria gave no signs that she was lying."

"NOOOOOOOhohohooooo!" Wren cried.

"Wren, I know you feel upset, but it's over with," Kiki stated. "There's nothing left we can do about it."

"I knew I should have voted for the other guy instead," Wren said.

"...Ahem!" Drenig coughed.

"Oh, no offense Drenig," Wren said, trying to save face.

"Eh, maybe you should talk to him alone Kiki," Drenig said.

"Why?" Kiki asked simply.

"I don't want to come off as petty by saying something stupid," Drenig stated.

"I understand," Kiki said. "Now Wren, I want you to act like you are still that pig's friend, but never trust him. He cannot be trusted."

"Okay, got it," Wren said.

...Unfortunately for them, Muffy had snuck into the bathroom to check up on the three. She suspected that something was up when they were talking about warm showers, and Muffy wanted to check on them. She was disturbed by what she heard and ran back to the bunker where she woke her "friend" up from his slumber.

"Grant! Grant!" Muffy shouted. "Wren, Kiki and Drenig are conspiring against you! They don't trust you either!"

"What?" Grant asked. "I suppose it's natural that they don't, I just wish there was a way I could gain their trust."

"I don't know what to tell you," Muffy stated.

"Well... I suppose I could hang out with them more," Grant said. "Try to tell a few jokes, serve them, do all sorts of things. I want people to see past my evil get-up and see me for who I really am. ...But that might be hard."

-Confessional Session (Grant)-

"Ugh! This is a major impairment to my game," Grant stated. "The more enemies I make, the harder my devious plans are going to be to pull off. But I still have Muffy and Jet to work with. ...Hmmm, Jet's going to be useless when it comes to befriending them, but Muffy is a friendly character. ...I think. She's kind of whiny though, and a bit of a suck-up. She was going to be my next target, but I need to get rid of the others first. ...But how? If I can't earn their trusts... maybe try and make them turn against each other or something? I'm thinking this up on the fly."

-After Confessional-

"Well, maybe we should get some sleep," Muffy said.

"Yeah, I'll need the rest of the morning to think about things," Grant sated before curling back up in his bed.

Muffy went back to bed shortly before Wren, Kiki and Drenig got done with their shower. Jet stayed in the hot-tub all night long. After Wren's outburst, they were pretty groggy, so sleep came naturally. ...but ended shortly.

Morning struck and competitors were still asleep. That was when a siren sounded around the bunker. Everyone awoke with a startling leap.

"WAAAH! Evil furries!" Grant shouted.

"Evil what-now?" Kiki asked as she woke up.

Suddenly, Bertram appeared on the screen. He was wearing an army helmet.

"Attention subjects!" Bertram shouted. "This is not a drill! Please report to the bastions and man the cannons!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Muffy asked.

Suddenly, Jet rushed through the door. He seemed frantic about something.

"Dra... DRAGONS! They're coming!" Jet shouted.

"Dagger Eyes is done fooling around," Bertram stated. "Dagger Eyes wants to take us out NOW, so he's bringing his army in! Grant! Muffy! You take the bathroom front cannons! Jet and Drenig take Team Mol-Tres' cannons, and Wren and Kiki will take the ones above the kitchen! MOOOOOVE IT!"

Muffy, Grant, Wren and Kiki ran out of the bunker and saw a big hoard of Pokemon coming at them. They even had cannons in the mix too. They really weren't fooling around right now.

"Oooooooooooooooh shitake mushrooms," Kiki blurted out.

Everyone went to their respected cannon towers to prepare for Gola's takeover. Their cannonballs, fortunately, were fully stocked, except they seemed different. They weren't the usual dodge balls. They seemed to be clear orbs filled with purple liquid.

"You may notice the change in the cannonballs today," Bertram said through the loudspeaker. "These orbs contain Savil's potion. ...Remember Savil? It's like we haven't mentioned her since we fought Hespute. Anyway, like Vower and Hespute's army, Gola's army is filled with zombies. Shoot those cannonballs at the incoming horde!"

"Uhhh... are we still fighting zombies?" Wren asked.

"You're forgetting Gola and his henchmen are zombies," Bertram mentioned.

"Right Mr. Bertram sir?" Muffy shouted.

"What could those stupid dragons do to us?" Jet asked.

Over with Gola, he was looking rather confident about himself. His zombies were charging forward and his dragons were manning the cannons. And with their army, it looks like Team Mol-Tres was outnumbered.

"Ha! Looks like they didn't have enough time to prepare," Gola spouted. "Dagger Eyes will be thrilled to hear that I wiped them out!"

"But what about the bastion towers?" an Axew alongside Gola asked.

"What about them?" Gola asked.

"They could still be controlling them," another Axew said.

"Yeah, but how likely would it be for those puny cannons to stop us?" Gola asked. "Now my faithfuls, ATTACK!"

As the armies drew near, the contestants waited for Bertram's signal. After a bit of a pause, the army was deemed close enough to fire at.

"SCREAM, AIM AND FIRE!" Bertram shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Muffy screeched as she loaded her cannon and fired a shot into the army.

Muffy's orb broke right on the heads of some of the zombies. Suddenly more shots were fired from the resistances cannons. Still, the zombies weren't changing their costumes at the moment.

"Do not consume the potion!" Gola shouted. "Just power through the shots!"

Back at the bunkers, as they watched the zombies advance, Team Mol-Tres started to get worried. Why weren't they slowing down.

"It's not working Bertram!" Wren shouted.

"It will soon," Bertram said. "The potion will soon vaporize and turn into gas. After that, they will have no choice but to consume the potion!"

"Got it, so shoot in front of them," Drenig said out loud before doing exactly that.

Suddenly the potion started to turn into gas around the zombies. Eventually they were stopping in their tracks. This did NOT please Gola.

"Oh what is going on!" Gola asked. "Stupid gas potion!"

But the dragons weren't zombies. They would need more shots to beat.

"Don't let up the attack! Keep charging in!" Gola shouted.

"But Gola, our zombies are turning on us!" one of the Axews shouted.

"Then annihilate them!" Gola shouted. "Nothing is standing between me and Quarantine's destruction!"

"Rodger," the other Axew said. Suddenly, Gola's army started to charge faster. They were even firing off the cannons now.

Gola's cannonballs hit the bunker and the loud noises rang in the contestants ears. They started to fear Gola.

"Are you crazy!?" Jet shouted. "They're using real ammo!"

"Aim for the cannons!" Bertram shouted. "Destroy the cannons, and they will be much easier to pick off!"

"That should be easy!" Wren said as he pointed his cannon over at the enemy.

The contestants were firing away at Gola's army, at both the cannons AND the dragons. The dragons were getting knocked out, the zombies were reverting, and the cannons were falling down. So far, it seemed like Quarantine was beating Gola. And Gola was getting angry.

"ARGH! What is wrong with you losers!" Gola asked. "GET THEM!"

"We're trying!" one of the Axews said.

"They're better defended than they look, and the reverted zombies are STILL rebelling!" the other mentioned.

"ARGH! THEN FIGHT HARDER!" Gola screamed. He was getting frustrated.

"We're trying... we really are," the first Axew whined.

Little by little, Gola's army was losing ground. With every shot the contestants fired, the army got smaller and smaller. ...Of course, the show was scripted that way.

"This seems... too easy," Kiki said.

"Of course, Bertram wouldn't actually let us lose unless it was part of the show's script," Wren called to Kiki.

"STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL OF THE SHOW!" Bertram shouted.

"Sorry!" Wren and Kiki called out in unison.

After a few more shots, the army got really small. Gola just could not keep up.

"ARGH! That does it! We need more troops!" Gola shouted. "Retreat to base for now!"

"I think that's best sir," the other Axew mentioned as they started to fall back.

**-Now the REAL Battle Begins-**

There wasn't much of a celebration back at Quarantine. After all, they knew they were going to win. Still, they did have fun shooting the cannons.

"Ha! That was too easy!" Jet shouted.

"But it was fun," Muffy said aloud.

"Hey Bertram, could you bring them back?" Grant asked. "I was having fun."

"Don't worry, you guys will have PLENTY of action," Bertram stated. "Observe in the sky."

"WOAH!" Muffy cried happily.

"No way, man! AWESOME!" Drenig cried just as gleefully.

"...So what?" Kiki asked, being a bit less impressed.

In the sky there were six carrying helicopters each carrying a small war tank. Eventually the tanks were set down onto the ground in the amidst of the bunkers.

"No way! I've always wanted to drive a tank," Wren stated as he got out of the cannon and started heading down to the bunker grounds.

"So when do we start driving these things?" Grant asked.

"Well, you should probably eat breakfast first," Bertram suggested. "After that, THEN we'll talk about the tanks."

"Alright, that sounds good, I guess," Kiki said. "So... who's going to cook."

"I'll do it!" Grant offered. "I missed doing the cooking to be honest. People don't think much of me as a cook because, well, stereotypes that evil doesn't cook and all that."

"Uhhh... why don't I try it?" Kiki asked. "I'll ask Wren, Muffy and Drenig to help."

"What about me? I wanna cook," Grant asked.

"Hey, maybe Jet would like to cook too," Drenig suggested.

"No," Jet said resoundingly.

"Alright, just me, Wren, Muffy and you then," Kiki said to Drenig.

"What's wrong with Grant cooking?" Muffy asked.

"Nothing is wrong with it," Drenig said. "We're just... uhhhhh..."

"Not confident with his cooking abilities," Kiki said.

"Plus, I'd really like to taste something from you Muffy," Wren said.

"Really? Awww, thanks guys!" Muffy cried.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Muffy is such a suck-up," Kiki said simply. "You say even the smallest things to her and she gets giddy with excitement. She's kinda cute that way."

-After Confessional-

Even though Kiki didn't want Grant to cook, Grant decided to sneak into the kitchen anyway. The first thing he did was go over to Muffy.

"Okay... how do I show them I'm a good guy?" Grant asked.

"Try offering to help," Muffy said.

"How hard can that be?" Grant asked. "Hey Kiki, is there anything that I..."

"No," Kiki said. "Like I said, I'm not sure I trust you as a cook."

"I really can cook though," Grant said. "You want me to make Oran juice?"

"No," Kiki said.

"What about toast?" Grant asked.

"No," Kiki said again.

"What about..." Grant started.

"Guys! He knows you don't trust him!" Muffy shouted. "He's just trying to do something nice to show you he can be trusted!"

"Oh, so he knows," Kiki said. "Well, let me just lay it out plain and simple... He CAN'T be trusted!" Kiki said.

"What do you mean?" Muffy asked.

"Kiki thinks Grant staged Aria's betrayal," Drenig added.

"What!? You have no idea what I had to go through in that small room!" Grant shouted. "You have no idea of the horrible things she wanted to do to me!"

"Was she actually IN the room?" Kiki asked.

"Yes she was!" Grant shouted.

"I didn't see her in there," Kiki mentioned.

"You weren't looking hard enough!" Grant asked.

"Muffy! Snap out of it," Wren said. "Don't you think, even for a second, there might be something wrong with Grant?"

"And what does "evil furries" mean?" Kiki asked.

"Wasn't one of the past contestants a furry?" Drenig asked. "You blurted out something that related to a past contestant."

"That was just a random dream, Abigale wasn't in it," Grant said.

"And what happened to our pie two days ago?" Kiki asked.

"Muffy dropped the spices in there," Wren said. "The filter cap was loose."

"Why would the filter cap be loose?" Drenig asked.

Suddenly, Jet came into the kitchen. He seemed to be excited.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Jet asked.

"I don't know, it just was," Grant said, completely ignoring Jet.

"Hey, stop ignoring me!" Jet asked.

"And what about the tripwire you tripped me with?" Kiki asked, still ignoring Jet.

"Oh, he grabbed that out of the tomb before I caught up to him," Jet said. "And speaking of which, thanks for leaving me down there Grant."

"Uh, I'm not affiliated with you, so your safety is not my concern," Grant said.

"What, you said you'd help me," Jet said.

"Help you with what!?" Kiki asked.

"I... wanted to help Jet become more likeable too," Grant said before glaring at Jet.

"Yeah, right, how's that coming again?" Jet asked.

"You see, Muffy?" Drenig asked. "Grant cannot be trusted."

"Muffy, help me!" Grant said. "They're scaring me! All I want is to be liked and appreciated!"

"See what you guys are doing?" Muffy asked. "You're making him feel miserable! For what? Why are you making him feel miserable!?"

"We're just telling our concerns," Wren said. "We're not trying to make him feel..."

"You guys are terrible," Grant whined. Grant was starting to cry. "I just... wanted... friends... Muffy! Why don't they like me!?"

"He's faking it!" Kiki shouted. "He's giving off no body signs that he's genuinely crying! He's trying to get your sympathy Muffy!"

"SHUT UP!" Muffy shouted!

"Muffy, how easily did you two become the best of friends?" Drenig asked. "It's like you just one day decided to be his friend."

"He's a bit sensitive," Muffy stated. "He seems so dark and mysterious because he likes to act that way. I want to help him realize how kind he can be, and protect him from bullies like YOU!"

"So that's it, you're basically babysitting him?" Drenig asked. "You think he's sensitive, weak and defenseless and you think you're helping him?"

"That's right! I am helping him!" Muffy shouted.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Poor poor Muffy," Drenig said. "She's so wrapped up in trying to defend people, that she can't see it. She refuses to realize what a shifty character Grant is."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Muffy just wanted to befriend Grant to help him out," Muffy said. "He's kind of cute even, but those mean people won't let him be nice! ...They scare me too."

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I don't know who's side to be on," Wren said. "Kiki and Drenig seem awfully stern about their beliefs on Grant, and Grant does seem suspicious. But I can't help but feel maybe the two were going to hard on him. ...Unless Grant truly is as bad as they say."

-After Confessional-

Wren decided to talk to Muffy outside as Kiki and Drenig were cooking breakfast. He wanted to tell Muffy how he felt.

"Listen, I know those two can be a bit... stern at times," Wren mentioned. "But they do mean well."

"How was THAT "mean well?" Muffy asked.

"They're only trying to watch out for you," Wren said.

"By scaring Grant into crying!?" Muffy asked.

"They don't trust him," Wren said. "And to be honest... neither do I."

"What do you mean you don't trust him?" Muffy asked.

"I... I still can't believe Aria would try to plot against you," Wren said.

"How well did you know Aria?" Muffy asked.

"Well..." Wren stuttered a bit.

"You didn't, did you?" Muffy asked.

"...I guess not, but I still tried to be her friend, and I still don't know what to think," Wren said. "And I just don't think Kiki is lying. I'm sorry, but you might have to consider that maybe Grant isn't being entirely honest with you."

"No, he's a nice guy," Muffy stated. "Why won't you give him a chance?"

"I'm trying to," Wren said. "But that doesn't mean I should ignore his suspicious activities either."

"But... but..." Muffy was at a loss for words.

"Please Muffy," Wren stated. "Kiki and Drenig mean no harm. They're just looking out for you."

Eventually, Kiki and Drenig came out with two plates of food. Kiki handed her plate to Muffy and Drenig handed his to Wren.

"Here you go Muffy," Kiki said. "You need to keep your strength up."

"See, they're not bad guys," Wren stated.

"Nah man, we're awright," Drenig said with a smile.

"I... I think you guys are wrong!" Muffy exclaimed. "Muffy knows him better than you guys do. Grant would not lie to me."

"I really would like to put that to the test," Kiki said.

"Muffy will show you," Muffy said. "Grant is a nice guy, and I'm going to help him prove it."

Muffy then walked off into the bunker with her plate of food. She needed a little alone time.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Maybe she doesn't see the same things Kiki does," Drenig said. "Even though they were in a lot of the situations, she just doesn't want to accept that, maybe, there actually is something wrong with Grant."

-After Confessional-

After everyone had had their breakfast, it was time to head out. Outside waiting for them were Bertram and a familiarly hideous Bastiodon. ...Then again, ALL Bastiodon were pretty hideous.

"AteeenTION!" the Bastiodon called out. Suddenly, Team Mol-Tres formed in a line infront of him and Bertram.

"I'm assuming everyone had breakfast?" Bertram asked. "Now, I am sure you remember our army vessel constructor. Please welcome back... Stronghold."

"Bertram has requested my duties once again to whip you slugs into tip-top fighting form!" Stronghold shouted.

"I thought I told you not to talk that way," Bertram said.

"I will talk any which I want, private!" Stronghold shouted. "Now! You all know what a tank is, right?"

"Duh! You think we were born yesterday?" Jet asked.

"Well I've heard of them, but I aint never seen one, especially not in my shop," Drenig stated.

"Well YOU are talking to ace Rock-em Sock-em Golurk pilot Jet here!" Jet said proudly.

"This aint no game private!" Stronghold shouted. "This is war! And if it weren't for me, you vermin wouldn't be standing here right now! You'd be lying under the blood soaked claws of your enemies, and is that what you want!?"

"They may have, but I have a black-belt in Judo so I doubt they would have hurt me," Kiki said.

"Confidence is key young lady, but that training will get you nowhere here!" Stronghold shouted. "Now, if we are done with the clutter, let's get to war double time! NOW MAN YOUR TANKS!"

The contestants started to walk around the tanks. But at the same time, they were also very confused.

"Ummm, which one is ours?" Muffy asked.

"Oh for Pete's sake, just pick one!" Stronghold shouted.

"Okey-dokey Mr. Stronghold sir," Muffy said.

Eventually everyone got into a tank. It was very dark inside, but everyone seemed to be situated.

"Okay troops," Stronghold started. "To operate the tanks..."

"Yeah, just turn the key, move vertical lever up to go forward, back to go back, horizontal lever turns tank, wheel controls tank's cannon by turning the wheel and lifting it up and down, and buttons shoot," Jet said in one breath.

"WHAAAAAAT!? We have a wise cracker among our ranks!" Stronghold shouted.

"How did he know that?" Drenig asked.

"Ha! Let's just say it's my little secret," Jet said.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"The Jet-frog wants to maximize his talents," Jet stated. "I've read just about every instruction manual in the bunkers, and that included manuals on tanks. Besides that, it's not rocket science. ...I could probably master rocket science too."

-After Confessional-

Before the tanks headed out, Stronghold had one more feature to explain. This feature was one even Jet didn't know about.

"You'll notice to beeping radar on your tanks hub," Stronghold stated. "That there radar tells of the location of Gola's base."

"Yes, we know about Gola's base," Kiki stated.

"We've been there already," Grant stated.

"Well that there radar will remind you where it is incase you forgot," Stronghold said. "All you have to do is infiltrate his base after shooting it down with your tanks then lure Gola out and throw an ammo orb at his mouth when you reach outside."

"Uhhh, what about the Diance's Diamond?" Muffy asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Bertram stated. "You need to confront Gola with the gem to retardent his powers. He's useless with the pink gem in his vicinity. One of your tanks will have to carry the gem..."

"Me! Pick Muffy!" Muffy cried.

"Kind of redundant to give the fairy type the gem," Bertram stated.

"Very well, I will take it," Grant said.

"NO!" Kiki shouted. "Muffy will do just fine."

"Agreed," Drenig and Wren said together.

"Oh alright," Bertram said as he climbed up a tank and opened the cockpit. ...Inside was Jet.

"Oops, wrong tank," Bertram said.

"Hey, why not give it to me?" Jet asked. "I'm much more trustworthy than Muffy."

"Well I'm already up here so here you go," Bertram said before dropping the gem into Jet's tank and closing his cockpit.

"Alright, are the troops assembled now?" Stronghold asked.

"Yep! All set," Drenig called out.

"The time has come soldiers," Stronghold started. "Remember to unload some of your ammo when you get there. You'll need to lob balls at Gola to transform him into a normal Pokemon. And now... MOOOOOOOOOOVE OUT!"

Eventually the tanks started to leave the bunker area and were headed for Gola's base. It was looking like another fun adventure for Team Mol-Tres. ...But will the bad guys let them win this time?

**-Gola Be Gone-**

Gola was marching around his factory, steaming after his last plan didn't work so well. Right now he was thinking of another way to fight the contestants. When suddenly he marched infront of a screen that turned on. On that screen was Dagger Eye's silhouette.

"UGH! You are just as useless as that uselessly useless Hypno and his useless plans that waste useless time!" Dagger Eyes shouted. "You are to report to me immediately for execution!"

"Execution, I don't think so," Gola said. "I still got work I need to do, and I plan on re-raising..."

"SILENCE! You are more of a hindrance than help Gola!" Dagger Eyes shouted. "Now get down here!"

"I don't have to!" Gola counted. "You can't just make me march to my death Dagger Eyes. And besides that, you know what Medulla said: The most useless henchman is a dead one."

"Grrrrrr, stupid Medulla," Dagger Eyes grumbled. "Fine! I'll let Team Mol-Tres kill you. Unless you can find a way to destroy them, you are terminated any which way."

"Ah, but would a useless henchman think to install a brand new automated defense system to their factory?" Gola asked.

"A worth-while henchman would have had them installed the FIRST time!" Dagger Eyes shouted.

"Well we can't change the past Dagger Eyes!" Gola counted. "Observe grandma with what big eyes you have!"

Gola pulled out a remote button from behind his back. He then proceeded to press the button, but it's effects would come later.

Meanwhile, the tanks were rolling in. They had just spotted Gola's factory and were ready to strike.

"Ha! Another win for the Jet-Frog," Jet said to himself. "Time to relive my mech training."

"Somehow I have a feeling this isn't going to be as easy as it seems," Kiki said to herself in her tank.

Like the mechs they used many episodes ago, the tanks had private intercom. Grant decided to turn his private intercom on to talk to Muffy for a moment.

"Hey, Muffy are you there, over?" Grant asked.

"Rodger," Muffy said happily.

"I'm still trying to think about what I can do to make them like me," Grant said. "I think I have a plan to do it, over."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind hearing it," Muffy said.

"Could you do the whole "over" thing?" Grant asked. "It's more fun if we end our sentences with over, over."

"Now that I think of it, that does sound fun, over," Muffy responded.

"Alright, I'm thinking maybe you or I could trigger a situation where one or more of the contestants are in a life death situation," Grant started. "And then I go in and save their bacon without a self pun intended, over."

"I don't know Grant," Muffy started. "That sounds very dishonest. And what if someone actually gets hurt, over?"

"What's dishonest about it, over?" Grant asked

"You can't just fake the situation," Muffy stated. "If it was a real life-death situation that would be fine, but faking it will probably backfire. ...Oh right, over."

"Hmmm, real life-death situation, huh?" Grant said to himself.

"Huh? What did you say, over?" Muffy asked.

"Yeah, you're so right Muffy," Grant told her. "I should find another way to gain their trust, one that is... more honest shall we say, over."

"Yeah, I wish I could help you out more, but..." Muffy started talking, but then Grant cut her off.

"ARG! Get away evil furries!" Grant shouted. "There's two of them! Run!"

"Grant! What's gotten into you, over?" Muffy asked.

"Oh... just the nightmare I had last night is recurring, over," Grant said.

"I thought Wren had the nightmare, over," Muffy said.

"I had one too, over," Grant responded.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

Grant let out a huge sigh before talking. He felt like he was going to say something important.

"Abigale... She was my friend... and I betrayed her," Grant said. "It's finally coming back to haunt me. My dreams last night involved a punky Pikachu much like Abigale's costume, and alongside her is a big and strong Raichu. The Raichu wasn't Wren, and probably represents her sister, Ruce. ...What am I doing? I thought being a real villain would be fun, but... No. No Grant, you did nothing wrong. You are just playing the game, and that means to double-cross your adversaries behind their backs. And it's been working so far. So please, don't feel bad. It's not like you hurt anyone."

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Why would Grant think about putting someone through a near-fatal experience just to prove he can be nice?" Muffy asked. "I thought he would be a bit more honest than that. Maybe Wren and the others are right not to trust him. ...Or maybe he's just desperate. That's the only other explination I got.

-After Confessional-

As they were getting closer and closer to the base, the contestants were caught off guard. Eventually they saw large turrets shoot out of the ground in front of them, ready to shoot at the tanks.

"What the!? Stronghold said nothing about turrets!" Drenig shouted.

"Where did THESE THINGS come from?" Wren asked himself.

"They weren't here before!" Kiki shouted.

Eventually they started shooting at the tanks and the tanks were feeling the damage. Eventually, some of the contestants saw a flashing bar on their tank's dashboard.

"Guys? What with the flashing bar, over?" Muffy asked over the intercom.

"That must be our tanks life bar," Wren mentioned.

"What happens if the bars are gone, over?" Muffy asked.

"Then I'm assuming our tanks shut down," Drenig mentioned.

"But what happens if Jet's shuts down, over?" Muffy asked.

"Relax! That aint happening!" Jet said confidently. ...Right before getting hit. "Argh! Get ready to face my wrath!"

Jet fired off a shot at the turret. It was hard to tell if the turret took damage, but it seemed to.

"Jet's right guys," Grant stated over the intercom. "We have to fight back, over."

"But what if all our tanks get destroyed, over?" Muffy asked.

"Don't think, just fight, over!" Grant shouted.

With that, the contestants started aiming for the turrets. They sent shot after shot at those turrets. Eventually, they started to come off.

"It's working," Wren said.

...But the Turrets were still firing away, and the tanks were taking damage. Eventually, Jet's tank got low on energy.

"No, no, NO! THis can't happen to me!" Jet said as he shot more shots at the turrets.

...Suddenly, with one last shot, Jet's bar was at zero. And his tank stopped working.

"ARGH! This is insulting!" Jet shouted. It's obvious Jet wasn't as good at handling the tank as he thought.

However, the other players, especially Drenig, were really hammering away at the turrets. But the turrets were hammering away at the tanks too.

"My bar's getting low!" Kiki shouted over the intercom.

"Don't panic, I'm helping!" Drenig said as he aimed his cannon at the turrets firing at Kiki. ...Only to have shots take they both out.

"Huh? Aww man," Drenig said as his tank shut down.

"Blast!" Kiki shouted as hers shut down.

"Don't panic, we only have a few to go, over," Grant said.

"Trying not to, over," Muffy shouted.

"Guys! I'm... going down!" Wren shouted.

With one last hit, Wren's tank stopped working as well. There were only two tanks left.

"We can do it Muffy, over!" Grant shouted.

"RAAAAARGH!" Muffy roared as she started driving like mad into the Turrets, firing away at it. She managed to destroy the turret, but there was one last one, and Muffy was about to go down. "Oh no, why did I do that, over!"

"Muffy!" Grant shouted as he aimed his cannon at the remaining turret. ...Finally, the last turret fell down, and the turrets were destroyed. "Phew, what a relief. Uhh, any other working tanks?"

Grant tried to talk over the intercom, but it appeared that no one else's tank was functional. Muffy had just taken her last hit.

Eventually, the contestants got out of their tanks to observe the situation. Things did not look good.

"So... who still has a tank?" Kiki asked.

"I do," Grant said, raising his hoof.

"...Great, the pig," Kiki mumbled. "Alright, it looks like we might have to take Diance's Diamond on foot. It's not too far away now."

"Stronghold also said to unload our ammo," Drenig stated. "Not sure why."

"He also said to shoot the walls down," Wren mentioned.

"But with one tank, that might be hard," Grant said.

Just then, next to the base, a screen was on the door, and Bertram's face popped up on it. ...He had screens EVERYWHERE on the island. Very suspicious.

"Awww, some of your tanks broke down?" Bertram asked. "Me and Stronghold forgot to mention on the back of the tanks are some levers that you have to push and pull back and forth to rework power into your tanks. ...I probably should have told you that BEFORE you went, but I didn't think he'd actually have installed turrets.

"How do you know all of this, Bertram?" Jet asked.

"I... have... eyes... EVERYWHERE," Bertram said slowly. "It's not that hard to figure out."

"Yeah, you SHOULD have warned us," Kiki said before running over to her tank. Immediately she found the lever to the tank. She waggled it back and forth until eventually the tanks powered back up. The others did exactly the same thing and before too long the tanks powered up again.

"Good job guys," Bertram said. "Now... uhhhh..."

Everyone had then boarded their tanks and started firing at the base. Eventually, walls were going down, the roof started to collapse and the door bust open from the shots There were still chunks of factory left that they would have to traverse, but the actions of Team Mol-Tres showed business.

"Nevermind," Bertram said to himself.

Deep withing the base, Gola was standing about. ...Until he heard the commotion outside. That's when he started to get FURIOUS!

"ARGH! They got past the defense system!?" Gola shouted.

"Oh, so you're STILL useless!" Dagger Eyes, who was still on the screen, shouted.

"No! I can still make it work!" Gola shouted. "Assemble the troops!"

"They have the Diance's Diamond, you dolt!" Dagger Eyes shouted. "YOUR ARMY IS USELESS NOW!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Gola roared. "We may not be able to breath our fire or stomp our feet and roar, but we can still use guns! That stupid diamond won't protect them from guns!"

"You better pray your guns will work," Dagger Eyes. "It's your victory or your life. Don't waste it!"

"I won't let you down!" Gola shouted.

Gola ran out of his room and looked down from the balcony where the Contestants were already coming inside. You could see the anger in his face as he saw the diamond that Kiki and Drenig were carrying.

"You stupid little punks think you can take me just cause you have the diamond?" Gola asked. "If you want me, come and get me! ATTACK MY ARMY OF DRAGONS!"

Eventually, Fraxure troops started to pour out of the wreckage. They were wielding some pretty long guns. ...But Muffy didn't seem afraid.

"Come get me dragons!" Muffy cried as she ran up towards a group of them and quickly punched one in the face.

After her reckless decision, Kiki decided to let go of Diance's Diamond and run up to them too in order to help her. Grant saw this and did not want to be outdone, so he ran up and helped as well. Eventually they were able to take the guns away from the Fraxures, and now Team Mol-Tres had a means of defending themselves.

"Oh yeah, more where that came from!" Gola shouted before he ran across the Balcony to another area.

"Hey chicken!" Muffy shouted. "Why don't you come down here and fight us like a man!?"

"It's not going to be that easy," Kiki mentioned.

"We're going to have to go deeper into the base if we want to catch him," Drenig suggested.

"Got it, but we have the guns," Grant stated.

"Not anymore," Jet blurted right before he yanked away Grant's gun.

"Hey! That's my gun!" Grant shouted.

"Jet doesn't take a back seat to no one," Jet shouted.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"I promise to help him and THIS is how he's repaying me?" Grant asked. "I'll let this strike go, but next time there will be consequences. CONSEQUENCES I SAY!"

-After Confessional-

In the next hall, there seemed to have been not much of interest. The doorway at the end of the hall was slooped, but that seemed rather innocuous.

"Where are the guards?" Kiki asked. "They should be hear."

"ARGH! Up there!" Muffy shouted before directing her laser beam fire at a couple of passing guards who were walking atop the balcony. Muffy was able to shoot them without much problem before they got ready.

"There's more coming," Kiki said as she looked up to the balcony and shot three more.

"Ha! These dragon kooks don't stand a chance," Jet said. But suddenly, they heard a loud crash.

"That can't be good," Drenig stated.

"Whatever it is, bring it on!" Muffy cried.

But suddenly, out of the ramp doorway, steel drums rolled down the ramp. They were heading for the contestants at blinding speeds.

"Aww man for goodness sake!" Drenig shouted as he saw the barrels.

"Okay guys, I know it's self exclamatory, but be careful!" Wren shouted.

Wren then started to run around the barrels, trying to dodge them. But his abilities could only go so far. That's when Grant had an idea.

"Oh NOOOO!" Wren shouted as a barrel was coming for him.

...But suddenly, Grant ran towards Wren and launched himself at Wren. He managed to knock him out of the way of the barrel.

"There ya go, friend," Grant said with a smile as he got off of him.

"Ummm, thanks?" Wren asked.

"See?" Muffy called out. "Grant CAN be nice!"

Kiki watched Grant's maneuver and she, frankly, wasn't convinced. One good deed wasn't enough to make her think Grant was good.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Nice try Grant," Kiki said. "That doesn't prove anything to us."

-After Confessional-

"Dang, these barrels keep coming," Drenig said, trying to hop between two barrels. Eventually another barrel came and smacked right into his gut. Drenig was pretty big, so the barrel came to a complete stop and Drenig still stood. ...Drenig still felt a bit of pain though. "Owwww."

"More troops!" Wren called over.

Eventually, troops kept pouring off the top of the balcony. It seemed the troops were just about ready to bombard them.

"Hey dragons!" Jet called out. "Try hitting this dude, huh? I dare ya!"

Grant hopped about the room, dodging the barrels with ease. While doing so, he jumped on top of the contestant's heads, including Drenig, Kiki and Grant.

"Ay man, watch it!" Drenig shouted.

"How rude!" Kiki exclaimed.

But Grant was really cross at Jet. Grant started to growl at what Jet just did.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Okay, that was strike two," Grant said. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Jet later."

-After Confessional-

While Jet was distracting the guards, Kiki and Muffy found a chance to take out a lot of the guards. Eventually, three of them fell over from the balcony. Wren immediately hopped toward the guns.

"Oh wow," Wren said. "Now the rest of us can have guns too."

"Okay, but I'm holding onto the diamond and I'm having some serious crotch-burn right now," Drenig stated.

"What hand are you?" Wren asked.

"Right clawed," Drenig stated.

"I think if you switched the diamond to your left arm, you could use the gun," Wren said.

"Uhhh, okay," Drenig said.

Eventually, the barrels stopped and the contestants each had a gun. Now it was time to ascend up the ramp. Hopefully they would run out of enemies to fight up there.

"How far away do you think we are from Gola's office?" Muffy asked.

"I'll bet not far at all," Jet said.

"There will still probably be more troops though," Kiki mentioned. "Stay on your best guard guys."

"Right!" Muffy cried.

"Hey, how hard can any of the other guards be?" Grant asked. "The ones we took out were easy."

"Something tells me that's the calm before the storm," Drenig mentioned.

"Bring them on, I'll take each of them," Jet said.

"Oh... maaaan, is my hair messed up right now?" Drenig asked.

"Drenig, I think now isn't the time to worry about your hair," Wren mentioned. "Well... let's move on."

Gola was right in his office watching the progress on camera. He was looking... kind of happy.

"Ha! They had problems so far," Gola said. "But they haven't fought half my troops yet. We know you viewers aren't going to be satisfied without a casualty! Stick around, and after the break, hopefully at least one of those losers kicks the bucket! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

**-Dragon Me Down-**

As they got to the top, they saw nothing but several doors and a path to the balcony. To their right was a window that viewed outside. There were several doors, including one that was labeled "Gola's Office."

"Okay, we just barge in and fight Gola then?" Muffy asked.

"It seems way too easy," Kiki mentioned. "There's a catch."

"Yup, it looks like the door is locked," Wren said. "Well THIS door anyway."

"Wait, what about the door near the entrance?" Drenig asked.

"Good thinking," Kiki said. "Maybe THAT door isn't locked."

While the others were talking about the doors, Grant dragged Jet off back down the ramp. He had some ground rules he wanted to establish.

"Jet, I wanna talk to you," Grant said.

"Yeah, what you got, Grant?" Jet asked.

"I want to bring up a few things to your attention," Grant stated. "First you stole my gun, second you jumped on my head. These two things are NOT things I appreciate. And if I am going to "wink wink" help you out, then YOU need to show some respect. After all, I can have them vote you off in a heart-beat."

"I don't know what to think of you at this point," Jet stated. "It looks like they're starting to figure you out and what you did to Aria and how you imitated her voice to make people think she was bad."

"Numskull," Grant blurted. "Don't talk so loud. Someone hears us, then my cover is blown. I don't want anyone to know my secrets, especially not Muffy. If Muffy knows, I'm finished. And if I'm finished, then you are as well."

"Ha! I don't need you," Jet said. "I'm better than all of you. I can support myself."

"You lose one more challenge, trust me you are gone," Grant said.

"Then I won't lose," Jet said. "Not to you, not to anyone else."

But while the other contestants were walking along the balcony, Kiki snuck back and tried to eavesdrop on Grant and Jet. She had heard EVERYTHING up unto that point. When she got the info she desired, she put a wily smile on her face and left the scene before they noticed her. She had all the info she needed to bust Grant, but still didn't have the proof.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Silly Grant," Kiki said. "You can't hide from the watchful eyes of a mighty raptor. We ALWAYS find the prey. ...I know Combuseken aren't technically raptors, but I can safely say I have the cunning of one at that."

-After Confessional-

"You did not, I repeat you did NOT just defy me," Grant stated.

"Yeah I did," Jet said. "I can tell you're not as reliable as you think you are."

"You need me... to keep YOU alive," Grant stated. "You may not realize this, but you do."

"I'm sorry, but you don't scare me," Jet said. "I'm going to win THIS challenge and the next one, and YOU are history! I'm going to outlive you in this competition!"

"...Then it's decided," Grant said. "Your fate shall be a sudden and agonizing defeat at the hands of... Oh dear."

Jet and Grant immediately saw troops coming up to the ramp. There were LOTS of them and they were all totting guns.

"Buh-bye now," Jet said as he jumped up the ramp to the next area where he saw guards pouring out of the doors. Some were heading towards the balcony, others were heading towards Jet and Grant.

"I don't think so," Grant said to himself as he followed Jet.

Up on the balcony, Wren, Muffy and Drenig were stuck on top, looking down and around at the troops. Up on the balcony, troops were coming in on both sides.

"Argh, looks like we have a busted hubcap," Drenig stated.

"What should we do?" Wren asked. "Should we shoot our way out?"

"It's no use, there's too many of them!" Muffy shouted.

"Come on Bertram, what do we have to do?" Wren asked out loud.

"I'll tell you what to do!" Suddenly, a voice was heard over a loudspeaker. It was Gola's voice. "Surrender the diamond to be destroyed! We might let you live if you do!"

"Never, Dragon breath!" Drenig shouted.

Meanwhile, Kiki was stuck in a crowd near the doors. She was uncertain where to go from here, but she didn't feel like giving up.

"We'll fight to the death if we have to!" Kiki shouted.

"You defy me!" Gola erupted. "You are severely outnumbered, and you DEFY ME!"

With Grant and Jet, Grant immediately had the plan to sneak through the crowd. He pretended to be Gola's henchman to evade being detected.

"Excuse me," Grant said while squeezing his way through the army. "All hail lord Gola."

Meanwhile, the contestants were thinking of a way to get out of this. Drenig eventually had an idea.

"Alright Gola, you win," Drenig said. "We will personally deliver this Diamond to you in exchange for our freedom."

"You think I was born yesterday!" Gola shouted. "I don't want that gem anywhere near me! I want my friends to take it and DESTROY it!"

"But how do you plan to?" Kiki asked. "Diamond is pretty tough."

"I'll have our most powerful crushing machine in the base to PULVERIZE the disgusting gem!" Gola shouted.

"Oh, I don't think that's gonna work Gola," Wren stated.

"Well, it BETTER!" Gola shouted. "I could deliver it to lord Dagger Eyes of course. He might be able to use the gem."

"Wait, lord Dagger Eyes?" Muffy asked.

"Yeah... That will please him much!" Gola shouted. "In fact, he'll probably spare my life for bringing the gem even if I don't destroy you!"

Meanwhile, Jet noticed Grant squeaking by and wanted to beat him. That's when he started jumping across the guards heads. ...A maneuver that drew lots of attention.

"Argh! Rough Frogadier!" one of the guards yelled. "FIRE AT WILL!"

That was the cue the other contestants needed to fight back. Everyone was focusing on Jet, so the contestants could pick the guards up in large numbers. And none of those lasers were getting anywhere near Jet.

"Ha! Suckers!" Jet shouted as he kept hopping along the play-dead soldiers.

"What are you guys doing!?" Gola shouted. "DESTROY THEM!"

Grant saw Gola jump past him and got anxious. He then sped up , trying to catch up to him. ...But everyone else was catching up as well as the guards were having a hard time focusing and falling by multiples.

"Looks like your guards aren't the best bet for your pokedollars!" Kiki shouted as she reached Wren, Drenig and Muffy.

Eventually, Jet made it all the way around to the balcony near the entrance. There he found an open door to Gola's chambers. Inside he came face to face with the rotted green Dragonite himself, Gola.

"Ha! It's all over Gola!" Jet said before firing the laser gun at Gola. Gola just stared and looked angry.

"Idiot! Guns don't hurt zombies!" Gola shouted.

"Well, technically you are not a real zombie, you're actually just being controlled by Dagger Eyes," Jet mentioned.

"Silence, imbecil!" Gola shouted. "Pesky little Ninjask thinks they're so tough, huh? Why don't you fight me then!"

Gola sucked the air infront of him, seeming like he was charging up an attack. Immediately he breathed a strong purple flame in Jet's direction. Jet immediately leaped out of the way of the fire, but it rattled him.

"Yikes! You're actually going to hurt us!?" Jet shouted. "Is that even part of the script?"

"I don't follow a script you lout!" Gola shouted.

"I don't follow nothing or no one!" Suddenly, Grant appeared in the doorway with his gun in hand. He fired a shot at Gola from his laser gun, and once again it had no effect.

"...Do I have to go over that again?" Gola asked.

Meanwhile, Kiki had something to say about Grant. After the info she pulled off their conversation, she was very eager to prove to Muffy that Grant could not be trusted.

"Hey guys, want to know why I trailed off for a moment?" Kiki asked.

"Awright, but I didn't notice you were away till just now," Drenig stated.

"...Really?" Kiki asked, a bit sad at what Drenig said.

"Oh, naw," Drenig said. "I knew you were gone."

"Okay, tell us why you were away from us," Wren stated.

"Well let's say I dug up a little dirt on Grant just now," Kiki stated.

"Ugh! Don't tell me you're going to demonize Grant again!" Muffy shouted.

"Just hear me out, I hear he was working with Jet to help him win the game show," Kiki mentioned.

"Yeah, he was helping him try to be more friendly," Muffy excused.

"Are you nuts?" Drenig asked. "Jet wanting to be friendly? What are the odds?"

"And I also hear that he got Aria eliminated," Kiki mentioned.

"Yeah, for betraying us!" Muffy shouted.

"No, Aria did not betray you," Kiki said. "Jet even knows. The one you heard yesterday was Grant, not Aria."

"NO! I knew it! Aria was innocent!" Wren shouted. "I knew I should have voted for Drenig."

"...Ahem!" Drenig coughed.

"Oh, sorry again, Drenig," Wren excused.

"No... It can't be," Muff said. "You're lying! You're just saying that because you don't like Grant! Why don't you like him!?"

"He's evil!" Kiki shouted. "He's shifty, manipulative and smug and he will stab you in the back if you give him a chance!"

"...No... That cannot be," Muffy said. "I... I don't know what to think. I... I need to get away for now."

Muffy started to plow through the crowd of dragon types. She seemed to be a bit upset.

-Confessional Session(Muffy)-

"Maybe Kiki is right," Muffy stated. "Maybe Grant really is evil. ...Or maybe Kiki is the evil one, and SHE'S trying to manipulate the game. ...Muffy has to know the truth as soon as she possibly can."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Jet and Grant were running around Gola. Gola kept breathing fire trying to roast them, and they were dancing for dear life.

"Argh! Hold still, will ya!" Gola shouted.

"But if we hold still, our skin becomes charred and I become ham sandwiches," Grant said. "Is that what you want?"

"What do YOU think, porker!?" Gola shouted.

"Ha ha! He called you porker!" Jet shouted.

"Choke on smoke, you wobbly joke!" Grant shouted.

"Okay, are we battling me or each other?" Gola asked before flying over to Grant. Immediately, Gola swiped his claw at Grant. Grant was hit and shoved aside. That's when Muffy came in.

"Grant!" Muffy shouted.

"Muffy?" Grant asked.

"Grant, I really want to talk to you!" Muffy exclaimed.

"Can it wait? Big angry dragon's trying to kill us," Grant said.

"Stupid Granbul, take this!" Gola shouted. Gola charged up and shot another stream of dragon's fire at Muffy. ...But the fire dissolved into nothing as it got a centimeter away from Muffy's skin.

"Ha ha! Muffy's a Fairy type! Muffy can't be hurt by Dragon type moves," Muffy stated. ...Until she thought of something. "Wait a minute, did I just break a rule of the game by absorbing the dragon's breath?"

"...Uhhh, technically no," Gola started. "But I don't think... wait! Nevermind! Breaking fourth wall again! Take this!"

Gola flew at Muffy and swiped his claw at Muffy's face. The claw just squished against Muffy's jaw as if she was made of rubber.

"What's this, I can't even hit you?" Gola asked.

"Ha! Muffy can hit you!" Muffy shouted, raising her fist up to Gola.

As soon as she did so, however, the others came around. Drenig immediately rushed in with the gem.

"Awright man, the jig is up!" Drenig shouted.

Gola stared at the gem in Drenig's claws and immediately got scared. He started to step back in fear. Drenig and Kiki started to get closer and closer to intimidate him.

"What's the matter?" Kiki asked. "The big bwave dwagon afwaid fo a wittle pink gem?"

Wren decided to group up with Muffy and Grant while Kiki and Drenig were doing the intimidation factor. He wanted to talk to Muffy.

"You... said you wanted to talk to Grant?" Wren asked.

"Later, yes," Muffy said.

"Is... Is it alright if I join the conversation?" Wren asked. "I'm your friend, and... you trust me, right?"

Before Muffy could answer, Gola went berserk. He started to stomp the ground in anger right now.

"Ugh! Useless army! Useless guards! Useless turrets! USELESS EVERYTHING!" Gola erupted. "I will not go down this easily! I will kill all of you with whatever power I have left!"

"Give it up," Kiki said.

"You're severely outnumbered," Muffy chimed.

"NEVER!" Gola shouted. "I will see it that if I go down this day, I will take one of you down with me! ...Or ALL of you! Behold! The super virus!"

Eventually, Gola pulled out a hypodermic needle with strange liquid inside. The liquid looked green and nasty.

"Wait, what the... Super Virus?" Wren asked.

"The very same I injected into Lilly!" Gola shouted.

"You WHAT!?" Muffy cried.

"The very same that has contaminated the powdered milk you drink every night!" Gola added. "And the same one that I will use on YOU!" Now I better start running if I were you, because the slowest one of you will be injected!"

"Oh no... Don't we at least get a head start?" Drenig asked.

"What's the matter Drenig?" Jet asked. "Can't run very fast, tubby?"

"Don't call me tubby!" Drenig shouted. "I'm just... thrown off by the sudden game twist."

"Ha! To see you go home today, THAT would make me very happy!" Jet shouted.

"Shut up, Jet!" Kiki shouted.

"Yeah, that's a horrible thing to say," Wren stated.

"...Ahem!" Drenig coughed.

"What did I say that time?" Wren asked.

"I think he was referring to your hypocritical statement," Kiki mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"SCORE! Drenig doesn't have a snowball's chance!" Jet shouted. "I have SO waited for this day to happen. When that needle pierces his scaly skin, I am going to LAUGH! ...And Laugh, and laugh some more. So long Drenig!"

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"I have many talents," Drenig said. "I'm very good at building and fixing things, I'm a fast learner, AND I have a good throwing arm. But one thing I can NOT do is run fast. ...Or do anything athletically really. That's kind of a big weakness of mine is that best traits are some minor intellectual strengths and the ability to throw well."

-After Confessional-

"Head start? Knock yourselves out," Gola stated. "But I'm blocking the way you came! I'll have what remains of my troops block the left balcony so you will have to take the long way around! Once you leave my sight from right here, the chase is on!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Drenig shouted before dropping the diamond and rushing out of the room. He wanted to make sure he was the first one out so he had the best head start.

"Of course if you guys don't get out of here soon, I'll start chasing you anyway," Gola mentioned. "So get going already!"

Eventually everyone poured out of the room and started running after Drenig. After everyone left Gola's sight, that's when Gola shot out of the room himself and began his chase on the contestants. Who, if anyone, would make it out of Gola's base alive. ...And why does Gola get to take out a second contestant when none of Dagger Eye's other henchmen have done so? Stay tuned to find out.

**-The Prey-**

The competitors had no easy time running from Gola. On the balcony there wasn't a lot of room to run around, so competitors would need to be careful so they don't fall off the balcony and hurt themselves. ...Especially onto the traps they had to traverse through in episode ten of Quarantine.

"Awww, those obstacles make Muffy sad," Muffy said when she was running.

"Why so?" Wren asked from short ways in front of her.

"This whole factory does, this is where Gola got Lilly," Muffy whined.

"Stop talking, you'll run out of breath faster," Kiki stated.

As Drenig was running, it didn't take long for Jet to hop in front of him. As Jet did, he decided to make fun of Drenig for being slow.

"Ha! Try and keep up with the Jet-Frog slow toe!" Jet shouted. ...right before biffing it by tripping over his own legs.

As Drenig saw Jet stumble over, Drenig tried to jump over him. Drenig wasn't a very good jumper, but since Jet was a spindly character it didn't take much to make it over him. However, Drenig's tail still hit him.

Meanwhile, Wren ran past Jet and caught up with Drenig. He decided to say a few things to encourage Drenig.

"Sorry for what I said before," Wren said. "Actually I do like you as a friend. But don't let Jet get to you. ...That, or let Jet's insults drive you to victory."

Drenig nodded and kept running. Drenig wanted to maximize his chances of survival by not talking, conserving as much energy as he could. ...But it wasn't enough to stop Wren from running past him. Unlike Drenig, running was Wren's forte. It was what Wren was best at in this competition.

But behind him Kiki had also caught up. She managed to just eek by Drenig sas she did. She couldn't help but look back in sadness when she saw him running slowly. ...But that sadness turned to anger when she saw Jet jump over him again and was heading towards Kiki.

"No more Mr. Nice Jet!" He shouted

Eventually, Muffy and Grant were catching up as well. Drenig couldn't help but feel nervous as they were about to pass him as well. And eventually, the two did pass Drenig. And now, Drenig was running for dear life as Gola was catching up as well.

"Ha! I've never had grilled Krookodile before," Gola shouted.

That's when Drenig took out his comb from his pocket and stared down at it. He winced as he looked down at the comb in his hands.

"It's been nice knowing ya, my man," Drenig said. "We've been through a lot together, pal. Good times... bad times... May you meet some new friends on your journey to the dragon's keep. Just... Just make it back alive."

Drenig was... talking to his comb like it was a person. Drenig seemed to have held that combe dearly to his heart. It's sentimental value was currently unknown, but eventually he lifted it up and threw the comb back at Gola. The comb hit Gola right on the head, leaving a few marks into his skull.

"Oww! Stupid crook!" Gola shouted, slowing down for a moment to regain himself after the comb hit him.

What Drenig did was utilize and sacrifice his luxury item to help him stay alive. As the mantra of the game went: If there wasn't a rule against it, it wasn't against the rules.

Meanwhile, Grant was talking to Muffy about what she was going to talk about before. He was actually eager to know what she said.

"By the way Muffy, what were going to tell me?" Grant asked.

"Later! When we're not running for our lives!" Muffy shouted.

"Drenig's going home anyway, so can you make it short?" Grant asked.

"...Kiki just said she still thinks your evil and that she thinks you sabotaged Aria," Muffy stated.

"She... what?" Grant said sadly before skidding to a stop.

"Grant! What are you doing!?" Muffy asked.

"I... I give up," Grant said.

"What!?" Muffy cried.

"Kiki hates me, and there's nothing left I can do to change her opinion," Grant stated. "I'm going to sacrifice myself! Maybe she'll see that I'm not a bad guy."

"Grant! NO!" Muffy screamed.

"Don't listen to him!" Kiki shouted. "HE'S TRYING TO TRICK YOU! HE WANTS YOU TO GO AFTER HIM!"

Grant stared between Grant and the other runners. Eventually, Drenig ran by Grant and looked back at him. He didn't know what to think, but he suspected something was up with the situation.

"Muffy, listen to Kiki," Drenig said. "He's lying to you."

"No! You've depressed him too much!" Muffy shouted. "He's not a bad person, and now he's going to extremes to prove it!"

Muffy then ran after Grant. She watched Gola close in on Grant, and it looked like he was ready to attack.

"Muffy, NOOOOO!" Kiki shouted from her location.

"Don't do it Grant! I'll save you!" Muffy shouted.

"Muffy, no. I want to do this," Grant said.

"Don't be stupid!" Muffy shouted. "We can pull through this! I WON'T LET KIKI BULLY YOU ANY MORE!"

Eventually, Muffy launched herself upward, jumped over Grant and plunged right into Gola right before he was about to attack. After the tangle, Grant started to get worried.

"Muffy!" Grant shouted.

"OWWWW!" Muffy shouted as the deed was done.

When Muffy attacked Gola, it didn't take Gola long to counter Muffy's attack. He raised his arm and drove his needle right into Muffy's arm. ...And it was finished. Gola had just injected Muffy with the Super Virus.

"MUFFY!" Grant yelled.

"Go on... Save yourself..." Muffy said to him.

With that, Grant ran on to meet the others. With the loss of his "friend" Grant was no on his own with no one to vouch for him. ...But what if it was his plan all along.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"...I tried to help her," Kiki said. "I tried to show her Grant's evils. But she would not listen, no matter what I told her about Grant. And now it's too late. ...Grant finally betrayed her. ...Or so I'm assuming. After what I heard earlier, I can't really believe anything else about him."

-After Confessional-

Outside the base, you could see Bertram on the screen. He was... eating popped Cornn berries right now. It was as if the things he saw amused him.

"I'm gonna miss that Grant kid when this is all over," Bertram said right before lifting up a big cup of soda and drinking out of it.

Eventually, Jet made it out of the building. Right now he was heading toward the ammunition they unloaded earlier.

"Uh buh wait um," Bertram stuttered. "Okay, wait for the others to come, wait for Gola to come, and then launch those glass sugar globes filled with potion at Gola!"

Just as Bertram was explaining, Wren came outside. His instinct was to go to the cannon balls as well.

"Glass sugar?" Wren asked

"Duh, you think we'd actually made you lob something that was dangerous to consume?" Bertram asked.

"UGH! That stupid idiot!" Just then, Kiki burst out of the building. She seemed angry. "Muffy was beyond my control to help after all."

"I'll be sure to tell her that when she comes out," Jet said.

"Oh I wish I could wrap your sharp tongue around itself," Kiki grumbled.

Next up, Grant came out. He was looking sad.

"NO... Muffy... Why did she have to sacrifice herself for me?" Grant asked.

"Wait, what do you mean "sacrifice?" Jet asked. "Don't tell me that loser Drenig's still in the game!"

"Ay, hate to splash about in your swamp Jet." Finally, Drenig came out of the building. Still looking handsome as ever. "But that quote-unquote loser is still in the game!"

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"UGH! He always finds a way to vex me!" Jet cried. "I am sick and tired of that stupid Krookodile always getting the one-up on me!"

-After Confessional-

"Muffy..." Grant whined. "Why did she have to do what she did. We were best friends."

"Cease your Krokorok tears swine!" Kiki shouted. "I and everyone else knows your faking it!"

"What!? Why would you try to antagonize me in a moment of sorrow?" Grant asked.

"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID, PUNK!" Kiki screeched. "There was a good reason I didn't find Aria in that room, and THAT is because she WASN'T THERE! Just YOU imitating HER voice! Now enough of the charades!"

"What are you talking about!?" Grant whined. "Why do you hate me so much to make up all those stories about me? WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS BEING MEAN TO ME! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAAAAAAAA!"

"Awww, you made him cry," Bertram taunted. "Apologize to him."

"Uh guys, Gola's coming!" Wren blurted out.

Suddenly, Gola was coming out of the factory. He still seemed angry and his mouth was wide open.

"Okay guys," Bertram started. "Ready your throwing arms and fire!"

With his command, Jet, Kiki, Wren and Drenig all threw sugar orbs at Gola's head. A few of them squarely hit his jaw, and sent to potion shooting down his throat. Suddenly, Gola stopped in his tracks. He started to cringe and squirm like he was in horrible pain. His wings flapped wildly about, adding to the illusion. Suddenly, His wings covered his body. And when they opened back up, you could see a more normal looking Dragonite afterwards. All the green from his skin and wings was gone, as were all the weeds that covered his body.

"I'm... Free," Gola said. "I'm not a zombie anymore. You... you guys did this to me?"

"Uhhh..." Wren was at a loss for words. "Yeah, we gave you the potion through these glass orbs."

"Okay, so what's your profession?" Kiki asked.

"You mean you don't know Gola Bernanke from Business Impossible?" Bertram asked.

"That's right," Gola said. "I have a TV show where I help failing businesses make a comeback."

"Oh yeah, I've seen you a few times at the shop," Drenig said.

"Huh? I don't recognize you," Gola stated. "I've never even heard of BigBoss Motors."

"No, on TV," Drenig clarified.

"Oh, right," Gola said.

"So... where's Muffy?" Grant cried.

"Grant?" Eventually, Muffy stumbled out of the building. Except Muffy was a swampy green now. She was converted into a zombie. "Grant, is that you?"

"Muffy! I'm sorry! I didn't want you to sacrifice yourself for me," Grant said, tempted to run after him.

"It's okay Grant," Muffy said. "I will have fallen knowing I helped you as a friend. But I do want to know... Is what Kiki said about you sabotaging Aria true?"

"No! None of it!" Grant whined. "Kiki just hates me! No matter how hard I try to make her realize... I'm good! I'm not as evil as the clothing makes me look!"

"Tauros excrement!" Kiki shouted. "I heard you with my ears! Stop lying to her!"

"Waaaaaaaaahaaaahaaaa! Kiki is meaheaheaheeeeean," Grant sobbed. "Now no will help me clear my name! Why isn't there a cure for the super virus?"

"Now, hold on. That isn't technically true," Gola said.

"Wait! There is a cure?" Bertram asked.

"Not yet," Gola confirmed. "But it COULD be made easily. All you have to do is get the super virus serum and deconstruct it. Then change a few ingredients around and vioala. Unfortunately I used the last of my serum on Muffy."

"Well? Where can we find some?" Kiki asked.

"Only Dagger Eyes has some in his potion factory. If you can find the syrum there, take it to someone who knows potions, and they can convert it into an anti-venom."

"I bet the Aromatisse would be able to convert the potion.," Wren stated.

"Ya don't say!" Jet sassed.

"Before you guys leave, I should return this to you," Gola stated. Eventually, Gola walked over to Drenig and handed him his comb back.

"Awright, my buddy's back!" Drenig proclaimed before styling his pompadour a bit.

"Anyway, I'll help you guys take Muffy back to base," Gola said. "I am truly sorry for what I did to her and Lilly. ...Please, if you guys find the cure, would you be able to forgive me?"

"I'm sure it could be arranged," Kiki agreed.

Eventually, everyone including Gola drove back to base in their tanks. The elimination ceremony came early that night, and Muffy was quickly put into the Quarantine chamber. There, Grant got to say his last farewells.

"I'm sure I'll get over this if we meet again," Grant said. "But some day, I hope we do. You've come a long way since the start of the show, Muffy."

"You... you think so?" Muffy asked.

"What you did back there was not the Muffy that first came onto the show," Grant said. "That was probably the bravest thing I've ever had someone do for me."

Kiki couldn't help but face-claw herself. Grant's shenanigans were really getting her Gogoat.

"Thanks, Grant," Muffy said with a smile. "I won't forget you!"

Eventually, the gas enveloped Muffy and like twelve other before her, she vanished. With that, Muffy was gone.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Poor Muffy," Grant said sadly. ...But suddenly an evil face lit up on Grant. "Poor pathetic, stupid, GULLIBLE Muffy! I didn't know manipulating people would be that ridiculously easy! I said I would sacrifice myself, and she did EXACTLY what I wanted her to do!"

Grant's face went sad again. He was going through the emotions.

"I... I didn't want to see her go yet," Grant said. "I almost truly liked her as a friend."

The evil face lit up on Grant again. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"But Kiki knows my secrets," Grant said. "I could not risk Muffy figuring me out at that point. She was too close of an ally to lose that way. But if she figures it out, I will have nothing left."

The evil smirk went away again. You may almost feel sorry for him.

"...But it won't be long before everyone knows," Grant said. "Should I just quit while I'm ahead?"

...And again, his evil smirk returned. ...Not much else to say.

"No," he said to himself. "I can... still find a way out. I ALWAYS find a way out."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, everyone went back to the Mol-Tres bunker. That's when Bertram decided to close the episode.

"Only five contestants left?" Bertram asked the camera. "We're that close to the end? Wow, it only feels like a week since the whole spiel started, but it's been two weeks now. ...Well two weeks for us anyway. ...But in these final four days is where the real action heats up. It's touch and go in Quarantine now, and only five competitors remain. Until next time, we say goodbye to you for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"Me and this comb have been together since the day I started working at BigBoss Motors."_

_Before the challenge, contestants will be treated to videos from their loved ones._

_"Remember your training Kiki. You've got this. You've got the whole competition in the bag."_

_Afterwards, competitors must track down a shipment ship filled with Dagger Eyes potions heading out to sea._

_"They're NOT flying machines! Surely you can build a boat!"_

_Competitors must construct their own boats and sail out to reach the ship._

_"AHHH! GIANT KRAKEN!"_

_To the competitor who places their bomb on the ship and touches back onto Quarantine shores, immunity._

_"This is where the Jet-Frog stops fooling around!"_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Do You Sea What I Sea?_


	15. Chapter 15: Do You Sea What I Sea?

Episode 15: Do You Sea What I Sea?

**-Last Time On Quarantine-**

_"Bertram is listening to our every word! Why do you think he's ALWAYS a step ahead of us!?"_

_Contestants were immediately assaulted by Gola's army._

_"Dagger Eyes wants to take us out NOW, so he's bringing his army in!"_

_After protecting their base, they fought back. ...In tanks!_

_"Well YOU are talking to ace Rock-em Sock-em Golurk pilot Jet here!"_

_They had to drive up to the newly protected base of Gola._

_"Guys? What's with the flashing bar, over?"_

_And then they had to fight Gola's guards!_

_"Okay guys, I know it's self exclamatory, but be careful!"_

_But eventually, they came across Gola himself._

_"Pesky little Ninjask thinks they're so tough, huh? Why don't you fight me then!"_

_As well, Kiki caught confirmation of Aria's innocence from the one and only Jet-Frog._

_"It looks like they're starting to figure you out and what you did to Aria and how you imitated her voice to make people think she was bad."_

_But no matter how many times she told Muffy, she just wouldn't believe her._

_"You're lying! You're just saying that because you don't like Grant!"_

_Instead of the Quarantine Chamber Ceremony, Gola managed to inject a virus into one of the contestants. ...Muffy, who went to save her... friend._

_"I'm gonna miss that Grant kid when this is all over."_

_Five contestants are left. Only five! Who will be the next to go? Find out on today's episode of... Quarantine._

**-No More Mr. Nice Big-**

Dagger Eyes was in his room as usual. Right now he was trying to stay calm, but things inside him were making him angry. ...Of course since all you can ever see of him are his eyes, it's hard to tell.

"RARGH! STUPID INTERLOPERS!" Dagger Eyes erupted. "ALL OF THEM ARE INTERLOPERS! AND NOW I'VE LOST MY BEST HENCHMAN! GRRRRR! I still have the zombie potions! They're going to have to..."

"Ha ha! HAHAHAHAAA! Yes!" Suddenly Medulla came in carrying two small orbs in his finger tips: the size of large pills. He seemed to be happy about this.

"What's wrong with you!?" Dagger Eyes yelled. "How can you be LAUGHING at a time like this?"

"Because I FINALLY formulated a way to get around that idiot beaver's BUG!" Medulla said proudly. "I have finally perfected... THESE! Just swallow one of these, and we can talk telepathically."

"Huh? That's actually useful," Dagger Eyes stated.

"Just let me get my flying platform and I'll drop it in your mouth," Medulla said.

Bertram was listening to it and started to get concerned. It wasn't just the orbs, but something else.

"Flying platform?" Bertram asked himself. "Dropping it in Dagger Eye's mouth? Wait..."

Bertram was starting to wonder just how massive Dagger Eyes was. If Medulla needed a flying machine feed him the orb, that meant he was huge.

"What kind of monster is he?" Bertram asked.

Eventually he watched as Medulla came flying into the room on his platform, still holding the orb in his fingers. Eventually he flew close to Dagger Eye's sillouette so that you could see Dagger Eye's eyes, but the rest was still black. Even Medulla was black right now due to the awful lighting. But eventually, Medulla flew away from the darkness and waited.

"Well? How does it feel?" Medulla asked.

There was silence for a moment. Bertram could hear no form of consolation or anything. But he could see Medulla's head nodding. Suddenly, he heard something.

"It WORKS!" Dagger Eyes shouted. "Now we can plan in SECRET!"

"Well, let me tell you the plan I got," Medulla started.

More silence ensued the two. Bertram could not tell what was going on. All he could do was watch.

"Awww, telepathy orbs, I want one of those," Bertram whined to himself. "Guess Dagger Eyes finally got one over me." Bertram let out a sigh before slamming his paw onto the control panel. "I won't give up," Bertram proclaimed. "I WILL be prepared for whatever plan he has. ...But what could it be?"

Meanwhile, morning struck the Team Mol-Tres bunkers. Contestants were already waking up. ...Of course, that's because Grant was talking in his sleep again.

"No. Stand back! Don't hurt me! I just wanted the Frisbee," Grant muttered. Grant started to clench his pillow tightly. You could even see fear in his mouth.

Kiki heard all of his muttering. Kiki had a feeling she knew exactly what was going on.

"Guilty conscience?" Kiki asked.

"WARGH!" Grant yelled before falling out of his bed.

"You seem to be having nightmares," Kiki stated. "Hmmm, I wonder why."

"Leave me alone, demon bird!" Grant shouted in a whiny tone. "Just leave me alone already! Don't you think I feel bad enough that Muffy's gone?"

"You can't fool me Grant," Kiki stated. "You might be able to fool the others, but not me. I know what you did."

"Shut up!" Grant shouted. "Just shut up! I am sick and tired of your endless banter! Just leave me alone!"

"No, yell at him some more," Jet blurted out, signalling that he was awake.

"And you," Kiki started. "I know you know what his evil intentions are! Why don't you make yourself useful for once and cough up some details."

"Why don't I start from two days ago," Jet stated. "You see..."

"You're taking HER side?" Grant whined. "After all I tried to do for you! I'm still willing to help you out if you need it!"

"You've resorted to desperation, pathetic," Jet said. "So anyway, just the other day he was..."

"WHAT!? The dragons are back!?" Grant shouted as he looked out the door. "Jet! Teach those dragons a lesson! Only you're good enough to do so!"

"Those pesky dragons think they're tough?" Jet asked.

"Grant... there's no dragons out there," Kiki mentioned as she walked to the door.

"Huh?" Grant said as he looked out. "Oh, must be the nightmares lingering in my brain."

"Sure it is," Kiki said.

"Now as I was saying..." Jet started.

"You know what Jet," Grant cut off. "I give up. Guys? I have something important to say."

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Drenig was in the back of the room combing his hair while Wren was still trying to sleep. But now all eyes were on Grant.

"Jet?" Grant started. "Everything I said... was a joke!" Grant started to raise his voice at Jet now. "Everything! What we did yesterday and today, you bought it! I was just leading you along for the ride."

"Wait, hold on, what?" Jet asked.

"You really thought I was going to try an eliminate ARIA?" Grant asked. "You really thought I had ANY power over the others? And you thought for a second that I was actually trying to help YOU!?"

"But the spices," Kiki stated. "Filters don't just come off!"

"Some do," Grant mentioned. "I mean come on Jet, how gullible ARE YOU? I've been playing the fake evil scientist schtick since day one! Surely by now you'd have figured out I'm not genuine."

"But... Your voice," Jet stated. "You were mocking Aria near the tree!"

"Still part of the ruse," Grant said confidently.

"But in the mansion!" Jet brought up.

"How many times do I have to say this, that wasn't me," Grant said.

"Oh... I feel stupid right now," Jet said.

"Good. Let that be a lesson," Grant said.

But Kiki still narrowed her eyes at Grant. She STILL wasn't buying it.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Whew, that was close," Grant said.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"He just makes this stuff up as he goes," Kiki said, trying to talk and giggle at the same time. "Evil scientist schtick? Please. And the dragons thing? It's obvious he did that to buy time to think of an excuse."

-After Confessional-

While Wren was awake, he noticed Drenig was brushing his pompadour. Yesterday, he referred to his comb as "his buddy." This suggested to Wren that his comb had sentimental value.

"Say, Drenny," Wren called out. "That comb... you called it your buddy before."

"Yeah, is that strange?" Drenig asked.

"No, it's just that Pokemon generally do that to things they hold deer to them," Wren mentioned. "Is that comb important to you?"

"Well... take a look at it," Drenig said as he held the comb out for Wren to look at.

Wren hopped over to look at the comb and noticed something. At the top of the comb, it said "BigBoss Motors" on it. Seemed kind of odd.

"That's on your jacket too," Wren mentioned.

"Yeah, everyone at my shop carries a comb," Drenig mentioned.

"I can't help but wonder... Is that hair real?" Wren asked.

"Nah. Actually it's not," Drenig said. "It's actually a souped up wig. You ever see Pokemon like me that actually have real hair like this?"

"But how do you keep it on your head?" Wren asked.

"Mostly just adhesive," Drenig added. "It comes right off if I pull hard enough. See?"

Drenig then pulled his pompadour off his head to show Wren that what he was saying was true. He then proceeded to put it back on his head.

"Does... does the comb, the hair and the jacket all mean something to you?" Wren asked.

"Sure does," Drenig confirmed. "It all came from my job. BigBoss Motors has a serious greaser theme going for it, and to this day I've always kind of associated myself with those cool cats from four decades ago. Me and this comb have been together since the day I started working at BigBoss Motors. Even the hair was given to me at work. All three of my accessories were initiation presents. And to this day, I've always enjoyed my job there."

"Bo-ring!" Jet shouted. "You're like an old man blathering about stories of their life that, news flash, NO ONE CARES ABOUT!"

"No one cares about YOU either!" Wren shouted.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"They don't know it yet, but they love me," Jet said. "They love to hate me that is. Of course, they're just jeleous."

-After Confessional-

Suddenly, Bertram appeared on the screen of the bunker. He seemed a bit... puzzled.

"I've got good news and I've got bad news," Bertram said.

"Errr, bad new first," Grant said. "I love bad news."

"The bad news..." Bertram started. "The bad news is that Dagger Eyes has a new plan for world domination, and thanks to their latest invention I do not know what it is yet. ...So I guess there may be no challenge today."

Everyone was silent. It didn't seem like anyone cared.

"But I do have good news," Bertram stated. "I have... Contact!"

"Contact? Contact with WHO?" Jet asked.

"Who else?" Bertram asked. "It's accustom for reality shows to be doing this at this point in the game. We have some very special people visiting us."

"Like who? Our parents?" Wren asked.

"Yes Wren, very good," Bertram said. "I have brought ALL of your parents here to celebrate your place in the top five!"

"No way!" Grant shouted. "Ooh, I wonder if mom baked cookies."

"Hmmm, do the parents know of the evils that have gone on on the show?" Kiki asked.

"What are you, nuts?" Bertram asked. "The audience hasn't even gotten to see the lovely Savil yet. We only air an episode a week, and Brew or Die is scheduled... well it technically won't be true by the time audiences see this."

"Drat," Kiki said, disappointed that Grant's parents won't be able to blab out his secrets.

"And to celebrate this day, I have also brought my parents along," Bertram said. "Please welcome Bartholomew and Bellina."

Suddenly a camera went to the side to show a curious face peeking through the door. A rather large Raticate wearing glasses and what looked like a small intricate tie. The Raticate waddled out of the doorway before an even larger Bibarel appeared. It was a female Bibarel who looked quite muscular, almost as big as Percy. And she was wearing fancy pink wing-shaped glasses and a matching pink one-piece spandex too. These were Bertram's parents.

"Aaay, hello? Is this the Quarantine base of control area?" Bartholomew asked.

"Oh you and your inconventional sentences," Bellina said with a smile. Bellina then picked Bartholomew up and walked towards Bertram. She then waved to the camera and smiled. "Hey, Bertram's got a surprise for you outside."

"Aiiieee, he has people outside contestants might want to see at current time," Bartholomew stuttered.

"You'll have to excuse ol' Bart," Bellina said. "He's not dumb, he just gets easily nervous."

"Being a Raticate is, uhhh, not un-challenging," Bartholomew started. "Raticates are armless and legless creatures, and Raticates are incapable of, well... we are useless at much other than hopping and chewing stuff. Raticate muscles all went to our jaw."

"Dad, I'm sure everyone knows how Raticate anatomy works," Bertram stated. "My dad can also go on tangents where he tells stories about himself."

"Just like Drenig," Jet blurted out.

"Oh who's the blue one? He's so cute!" Bellina shouted.

"Mom, you think EVERYTHING is cute," Bertram said. "My mom's a pro-wrestler and my dad is an accountant."

"Uhhh, they have special calculators for me there," Bartholomew stated.

"And I love both of you equally," Bertram said trying to hug Bellina from where she was holding Bartholomew so he could hug him too. "Anyway, step outside: Your parents are waiting."

"My parents are outside?" Kiki said happily.

"Oh I bet my mom and dad are proud of me for making it this far," Wren stated.

"I wonder what my parents have done since I left for this show," Jet asked himself.

Eventually everyone was heading outside where they would meet their parents. This could be a very touching moment for all of them.

**-Family Reunion-**

The contestants shot outside to look for their parents. Their parents weren't initially in sight, which had the contestants wondering.

"Bertram isn't playing a trick on us, is he?" Drenig asked.

"No, Drenig doesn't joke about stuff near and dear to us," Kiki stated. "...At least I don't think."

Just then, a loud noise could be heard. It sounded like a thump.

"What was that?" Grant asked.

The thumping got closer and louder. Suddenly, a huge creature appeared right behind Wren, who was standing in the doorway. The monster eventually grabbed Wren and hoisted him into the air. It was a BIG massively wide Cleffable, probably the biggest Cleffable you could ever come across.

"ACK!" Wren blurted out.

"Hey! Big guy! Let go of Wren you jerk!" Kiki yelled.

"Dad! Why do you always have to do that?" Wren asked.

"Wait, what?" Kiki asked. "...Dad?"

"Wrenny!" the big Cleffable exclaimed. "You look just as lively as the day you left home. How has the show treated ya?"

Suddenly, a smaller creature came out of the doorway. This one was a Raichu, probably Wren's mom.

"Oh Dimitri, do you have to surprise hug your son every time you see him after long periods of time?" The female Raichu asked. "He's a grown boy."

"He's our grown boy, Gerdy," Dimitri the Cleffable stated.

"Hey! Fatso! You're blocking the doorway!" Another shout from inside the bunker was heard.

"Dad?" Jet asked out loud.

As Dimitri and Gerdy the Raichu moved out of the way, an even more massive Poliwrath came out of the doorway. Except the Poliwrath wasn't fat huge, he was a total beefcake at that, and he was flexing his muscles as he came out. Accompanying him was a very tall Greninja. These must have been Jet's parents.

"Hey Jet," the Poliwrath greeted. "Good job Jet! I knew you'd make it this far."

"It's in the family blood Squall," the Greninja said in a rather seductive voice. "Our family is made of winners. We raised our son up right."

"Now Shadow, I wouldn't go that far," Squall said. "I've always noticed that in life the more confident I am, the more likely I end up losing a game. That's why I always try to play with caution."

"Caution's for losers, Squall," Shadow stated. "When you're the best, you know it."

"Wow, his mom's just as stuck up as Jet is," Kiki mumbled to herself.

"Excuse me?" Shadow asked.

"Nothing," Kiki blurted out quickly.

Another pair of Pokemon quickly came out the door. This time a very slinky looking Mienshao with a white Judo outfit and a blackbelt was accompanied by a very tall Blaziken with a blue Judo outfit and a blackbelt. These were Kiki's parents. It was ironic how Kiki's Judo outfit was red, which made red, white, and blue Judo outfits.

"Eeee! My parents are here!" Kiki shouted as she ran up to her parents and bowed.

"Ah, well met Kiki," the Mienshao said. "I see we have trained you well."

"Very well indeed," the Blaziken said.

"How have you been handling the competition so far?" the Mienshao asked.

"Just doing my best dad," Kiki stated.

"That's how you play," the Mienshao stated. "Remember not to get too confident. Overconfidence leads to defeat."

"See? Even he thinks so," Squall told his wife.

The Mienshao then walked up to Squall and Shadow. It seemed he wished to greet them.

"Ah, and you are?" the Mienshao asked.

"I'm Shadow, and beefcake is Squall," Shadow greeted. "We're Jet's parents."

"I am Kanji," the Mienshao said. "And she, over there, is my wife Ryoko."

"Is that so," Shadow said.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Kanji sir," Squall said.

"Huh, Jet's father doesn't seem like a total jerk," Kiki said to herself.

The next one to come out was a tall and rather serious looking Houndoom. He didn't seem all that happy. Next to him was a rather pudgy looking Grumpig with an apron and a tray of cookies. She wasn't as fat as Dimitri, but she looked more out of shape in general. More flab and less muscle fat in comparison.

"Yes! Mom made cookies!" Grant shouted.

"Awww, hi darling," the Grumpig female said. "I made cookies for everyone. I made twenty, which should be enough for everyone."

"Why are you constantly spoiling him Naomi?" the Houndoom asked.

"Marle, can't you ever be supportive?" Naomi asked.

"Hmph, I don't know why," Marle started. "I mean, I should congratulate our son for making it this far, but I don't see how he did. Who could put up with that "evil scientist" get-up of his?"

"Oh, Marle, you're embarrassing him," Naomi said.

"Good," Marle said. "Maybe he'll learn how much of an outcast he is."

Grant started to cower before his dad. It didn't seem like he liked Marle much at all.

"Now who want's cookies?" Naomi asked.

"Oh, I do," Dimitri said before walking over to the cookies.

"Me! I want one," Wren said, standing up to grab a cookie.

"Ooh, are they oatmeal cookies covered in dried Cheri berries?" Squall asked.

"It doesn't matter, cause you can't have one," Shadow said.

"Aww come on, one cookie won't hurt," Squall said.

"You don't even have a mouth," Shadow stated.

"Who says we don't? Squall asked. Squall grabbed a cookie and shoved it right into the swirl on his belly. When he took his hand away from his belly, the swirl was gone. "Mmmm, good cookies Naomi."

Squall seemed to be the type who liked to be in the spotlight, but still had some sense of humility to him. That's why he was rude to Dimitri, but at the same time didn't seem to be all that terrible.

"Ay, wait, where's my parents?" Drenig asked.

"Hey, room for two more?" Finally, a rather large Hippowdon came through the doorway holding a cane in his hands came out. He was followed by a spunky Krookodile with a cowboy hat. She seemed to be the opposite of Drenig. While Drenig was kind of chubby for his species, his mom seemed to be the spitting image of good Krookodile health.

"Ay, now it's really a party," Drenig said as he went over to his parents. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my mom and dad, Mortimer and Ignatia."

"Pleasure if I do say so myself," Mortimer greeted.

"Oy, Drenig, see you're still kickin', ay?" Ignatia asked. "Who'd have thought a rookie like you could a made it this far? Your mechanical skills getting good use?"

"Are they ever," Drenig said with a smile.

"It's a shame your room mate isn't with you," Mortimer said.

"Aww, he had a good run," Drenig said. "I do kinda miss Dustin though. But I made more friends too. You met Kiki and Wren yet?"

"Oh, is that right?" Gerdy asked her son. "Have you been making lots of friends?"

"Yes mom," Wren said. "It's a shame not all of my friends could make it to the final five. I still miss Stawolt, Aria, Muffy. ...I wish all of them were here."

"You found a nice girl yet?" Dimitri asked.

"I didn't come here for girls dad," Wren mentioned.

"What about Kiki? She's pretty cool, and she's your type," Dimitri stated.

"Wait, what? Bertram never mentioned that," Kiki stated. "He only..."

"Kiki, we already decided we just wanted to be good friends," Drenig mentioned. "Let it go."

"Ahh, wise words to live by: Forgive and forget," Kanji said.

"Well, that's true, but there's nothing to forgive," Kiki stated.

"Then just forget, young dear," Ryoko stated.

"You're right, I really should," Kiki mentioned.

Eventually, two more Pokemon came out. Bartholomew and Bellina had just come out of the bunker and seemed rather happy about seeing everyone happy.

"Oh dear," Bartholomew said. "All these people... Anxious intentions are rapidly increasing inside me."

"Cookie?" Naomi asked, presenting Bartholomew and Bellina with her cookie tray. There were still seven cookies left since Jet and Shadow did not have one.

"Don't mind if I do," Bellina said, taking two cookies and handing one to Bartholomew.

"Ay, now where's that Bertram bloke at?" Ignatia asked.

"Bertram is busy," Bartholomew stated. "He's in the room with all the gadgets right now and said he's looking for a sign."

"In other words, he won't be with us," Bellina stated.

In the control room, Bertram was watching over the whole entire peninsula. He was looking high and low for any signs of Dagger Eyes. Eventually he saw something. Near a large cliff at the edge of the peninsula, he saw some action. Out of the cliff side he saw a large ship slowly going through the cliff. It could only be assumed there was a secret docking bay there. Bertram had a feeling it was a ship belonging to Dagger Eyes. That's when he got out the phone and made a call.

"Stronghold? Break out the transport copter," he spoke through the phone. "And bring some of your best explodables. ...And most importantly a breakfast buffet. The contestants haven't eaten yet."

It didn't take long for the helicopter to fly out to the Quarantine bunker grounds. Everyone saw the giant helicopter and cleared out of the way for it to land. Once it did, Bertram got out of the flying vehicle and stood where everyone could see him.

"Alright contestants, listen up," Bertram said. "I have good news to share."

"Dagger Eyes is finally history?" Grant asked.

"Uhh, no. Far from it," Bertram mentioned. "Dagger Eyes has finally surfaced. He has a suspicious ship swimming out to see and we need to stop this ship at all costs."

"Hmph, I see you're making the contestants work hard," Marle mentioned.

"It's nothing our young Kriketot cannot handle," Ryoko stated

"Your Kriketot?" Shadow asked. "Our son will squash YOUR Kriketot like one."

"Hey! Is that how we treat strangers!?" Squall yelled. "I mean, Jet is only the most athletic monster in college but she looks pretty tough too."

"Hey, no need to fight guys," Dimitri stated.

"Strong words coming from one with no confidence," Shadow mentioned.

"Who are YOU to decide who has confidence?" Gerdy asked.

"Mmm hmm, I can't help but wonder if SHE really has any," Mortimer asked.

"Oh, she has nothing BUT confidence in her head," Squall mentioned.

"Bertram, there are still five cookies left, you want one?" Naomi asked.

"People! Monsters! Let's quell the flames for a moment," Bertram said before walking over to Naomi. "Oh thank you by the way." Bertram took a cookie and shoved it right in his mouth. He then started talking with his mouth full. "Anyway, we have to take the helicopter..."

"Hey, speak with your mouth empty!" Bellina exclaimed. Bertram gulped his cookie down.

"Yes mother," he said before resuming. "We have to take the helicopter out to that ship, then we have to drop the contestants down wielding state-of-the-art explodable technology and blow that ship up."

"Ay, now this aint what I signed my son up for!" Ignatia shouted.

"Yes that sounds awfully dangerous," Gerdy replied.

"Don't worry, this is just a TV show," Bertram said. "We would not put the contestants in any real danger. Remember this. Everything you will eventually see on TV is not real. You will see contestants with guns, but they are not REAL guns. Likewise, these are not real bombs we're talking about. I hate it when I have to break the forth wall to explain things."

"Oh, that's a relief," Dimitri said. "See Gerdy, Wren's going to be fine."

"Now, since we are in a hurry and none of you have had breakfast," Bertram started.

"Are you sure?" Shadow asked. "It looks like Dimitri and Naomi had breakfast, lunch AND dinner."

"Inside the helicopter is..." Bertram started before walking over to the side of the helicopter and opening up a big sliding door. "A breakfast buffet so you can all eat on the go, and we can save the world in a convenient fashion."

"Aww, that's our boy, always thinking about other people," Bellina said.

"Hey, I'm cold and stern when I want to be," Bertram mentioned. "But I can also be quite nice too."

"It is nice that son is nice to others," Bartholomew stated.

Eventually, everyone boarded the helicopter. Bertram showed everyone the breakfast table which had many of the same things the breakfast table at Pandora's rocket had. For those who forgot: Scrambled Blaziken eggs, waffles, omlettes, breakfast wraps, many different kinds of cereal, and Emboar ham. There was also hashbrowns, bacon, sandwiches and other things. Bertram went over to the table and picked up one of the breakfast sandwiches.

"While we're flying out to the ship, why don't you guys enjoy yourselves in here," Bertram said before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Ooh, sounds like a plan," Squall said.

"Remember to show restraint, Dimitri," Gerdy blurted out.

Eventually, Bertram went into the control area to fly the helicopter. While he was flying, the others started to talk with each other.

"So... Why don't we get to know each other?" Wren suggested. "I am Wren, and this is my father Dimitri, and my mother Gerdy."

"Hmph, must be proud to have parents like that," Marle said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dimitri asked. "Do you wanna go?"

"Dad!" Wren shouted.

"I suppose we've all made mistakes," Marle stated.

"Dad, you're not saying marrying my mom was a mistake are you?" Grant asked.

"Did I say that? I just said we all make mistakes," Marle mentioned.

"You kind of insinuated it though," Naomi mentioned.

Grant started to cower again. Wren saw Grant cringing at the thought of his father and felt bad for him.

-Confessional Session(Wren)-

"I wonder if that is why Grant is so sensitive," Wren asked himself. "His father doesn't exactly seem like the nicest person on the planet. I'm also pretty sure he just insulted my dad, my mom, and HIS mom. A rather bad looking egg really."

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"Now you know the "Grand Dark Lord," Grant stated. The one more evil thank I wish Abigale was back. ...Huh? Did I just say something odd? Blast! I did, didn't I. ...My dad makes me think, maybe now is the time I should come clean. My dad makes me really uneasy. And what chance do I have to win. Yeah, I should try to see if telling the truth would make my dad proud."

He then switched his face to his evil grin. Grant was thinking bad thoughts.

"Or, I have a better idea. I will use my father to churn sympathy out of the contestants. Ha ha! I can use that as my drive to victory."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Kiki and Drenig were with their parents, who were both talking with each other. They were talking about their relationship with each other.

"So, how long have you two been friends?" Mortimer asked.

"I guess it all started a day or two after Riley got kicked off," Drenig mentioned. "We tried to hate each other cause after Bertram told us we were compatible, we didn't want to feel like a relationship was pushed on us, but eventually we just became good friends."

"You know, he could easily have told you that you were compatible with that Raichu as well," Mortimer asked. "Yet why pick our son in particular."

"Ay, that does seem like a wicked mystery," Ignatia mentioned.

"I know my parents asked me to forget, but... that does seem odd," Kiki mentioned.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Drenig's a cool cat and all," Kiki mentioned. "But Wren's cool too. Why would Bertram pick Drenig instead."

-After Confessional-

"Ay, it does seem a bit odd," Drenig stated. "I guess Bertram just picked me in particular because Riley had a thing for Kiki, and I guess Bertram landed on me because me and Riley are both lizards."

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"Oh... I guess that makes sense now that I think of it," Kiki said.

-After Confessional-

"I guess Kiki should just go with how she feels," Kanji stated.

"Well I think Drenig seems like a worthy candidate for our daughter's future husband," Ryoko mentioned.

"Thanks Mrs. Kiki, but Wren is very nice too," Drenig stated.

"Hmmm, I do not know if I would approve of either as our daughter's husband," Kanji stated. "They seem very... Well... Do they have honor? Are they true warriors?"

"Dad, why does it matter? I don't plan on marrying either of them," Kiki mentioned.

"If you ask me, I think they would both do well," Mortimer stated.

"Hey, she said she wasn't interested, let the dipper have her coconut," Ignatia stated.

"Again with the coconuts," Drenig said. "What the heck are coconuts?"

"Hmph, you guys are weak," Shadow stated as she passed by. "A real warrior like Kiki deserves a real warrior like Jet."

"...But they're not compatible!" Drenig and Kiki's parents shouted in unison.

"Besides mom, she's annoying," Jet stated.

"You don't know what she's really capable of," Squall mentioned.

"I bet she couldn't beat our Jet at sports," Shadow mentioned.

"Our daughter could snap him in two pieces in a fight," Kanji stated.

"Oh yeah?" Shadow taunted. "I'd like to see that happen."

"You're on," Kanji challenged. "Kiki, teach those upstarts a lesson."

"No!" Kiki shouted. "You guys came here so that you could bond with your loved ones, you didn't come to fight each other."

"Ooh, she could TOTALLY snap our son with that weak talk," Shadow mentioned.

"Why you!" Kanji exclaimed.

Immediately Squall and Ryoko tried to restrain their spouses. They were trying to tear each other a new one.

"You have no honor!" Kanji shouted.

"And you're way too weak!" Shadow shouted.

They both growled at each other. Things were getting out of hand. ...Until suddenly, a shout from the pilot area arose.

"No no NO!" Bertram shouted. "I told them to make sure the helicopter was fully stocked! We're not going to have enough fuel to reach the ship!"

"Oh no, we're not going to crash land, are we?" Wren asked Bertram.

"No, we have enough to land safely, but that's about it," Bertram said. "I'm going to land it near the old junkyard where we had the flying challenge."

"How come?" Wren asked.

"Cause I have an idea," Bertram stated.

"Coming from Bertram... are ideas good?" Grant asked the others.

"I just hope it's not another building challenge," Jet said.

"I wouldn't mind," Drenig stated. "At least if it's easier than what we did before with the flying machines."

Eventually, the helicopter landed in the junk yard. The junk-yard was near the water, because it was where garbage barges hauled stuff off. But it was also conveniently placed for the next challenge.

"Well, no fuel in the helicopter, so it looks like we have to go to plan B," Bertram said. Bertram was setting up for the commercial break. "So what will we have in store for the contestants? Please, stick with us in these dark hours."

**-Whatever Floats Your Boat-**

"Wow, we put our trust in THIS idiot to take care of our kids?" Marle asked.

"Dad! Stop treating me like a kid!" Grant shouted.

"Ugh, no one your age drags around their Halloween costume every single day," Marle stated.

"It's not a Halloween costume!" Grant shouted. "It's my everyday clothing!"

"Aww, be nice to the poor fella," Mortimer asked. "He just has an imagination. Did we not all when we were his age? Don't we all still do?"

"You pansies might," Marle stated. "But I'm perfectly normal, thank you."

"You don't seem very normal," Mortimer stated.

"Dearie, you're getting a bit cross ay there aren't ya?" Ignatia asked.

"No, I don't think so," Mortimer stated.

"Ay, why's ya back trickling sand out then?" Ignatia asked. "That usually happens when ya angry."

"Listen people," Bertram called out. "I still have a plan to catch up to the ship, but this might be a team effort."

"This was part of the script, right?" Bellina asked her son.

"Well I already broke the fourth wall once," Bertram muttered to himself. "Yes, this is part of the script."

"I don't mean to criticize your hosting skills," Dimitri started. "But don't you think breaking the fourth wall ruins some of the fun of playing and watching the show?"

"Uh, son, how often have you told the audience it's just a show?" Bartholomew asked.

"If I don't, the contestants do," Bertram mentioned. "But it doesn't matter. Time to start the challenge. Today we will be building... boats!"

"Ooh, our son's going to be good at this one," Mortimer told Ignatia.

"Really? Another building challenge?" Jet asked.

"Excuse me, but I think that's discrimination!" Squall shouted. "You're singling everyone out except him!"

"Oh for the love of..." Bertram started. "How hard is it to put a bunch of sticks and stuff together?"

"We don't have sticks, we have scrap metal," Shadow mentioned.

"No? There's lots of palm trees nearby," Bertram mentioned. "Get all your sticks and wood from those."

"That sounds like an absurd task for our son," Naomi said.

"That is where..." Bertram started.

"She is right, can't we at least help our sons and daughters build the boats?" Gerdy asked.

"...I was going to say "That's where you're wrong because you're all going to help," but now the point's moot," Bertram stated.

"We have never built boats before," Kanji stated.

"It still seems like a bogus task," Shadow mentioned.

"And what was that about a separate building challenge?" Ryoko asked.

"You know, one that failed?" Kiki asked. "Mom, he asked us to build dangerous flying machines."

"What? How irresponsible is that!?" Ryoko shouted.

"We've had enough, you're NOT sending our kids out to sea to die!" Kanju shouted.

"I'm not a kid!" Kiki exclaimed.

"Ugh! We have lifeguards on duty!" Bertram shouted, "I'll have you know Bellina is a very good swimmer and she will not let anyone drown."

"Why doesn't she just set out to blow the ship up?" Shadow asked.

"YOU'RE COMPLICATING THE SCRIPT!" Bertram roared. "Look, they're boats! Simple, wooden boats. Motors optional! Rowing mechanisms of some sort recommended! Oars, sails, WHATEVER! They're NOT flying machines! Surely you can build a boat!"

"Fine, we got the wood, we got scraps, but how do we put it all together?" Kiki asked.

"There might be screws and bolts in the scrap," Drenig mentioned.

"Come on guys, this will be fun," Wren said. "Plus, we get to bond with our parents. It's a family activity."

"Oh... yay... I get to work with *gulp* my dad," Grant mentioned.

"What's wrong little guy?" Wren asked.

"My dad scares me," Grant mentioned. "He's always scolding me for small things. He scares me even more than Kiki does. Do you understand what I have to go through with him? It's not fun."

"Aww, don't feel too bad, maybe you can switch parents for now," Wren said.

"That would make him angry!" Grant cried. "I don't want to unleash my dad's wrath."

"Well you could always... try to act normal," Wren suggested.

"Normal? How?" Grant asked.

"Well, you could take your costume off for starters," Wren said.

"Costume! These are my clothes!" Grants said.

"Taking them off till dad leaves isn't going to hurt you," Wren said.

"Well... alright, I suppose I could..." Grant started by taking his goggles off. Beneath his goggles, Grant actually had some nicely colored eyes.

"There, that's a start," Wren said. "Try to get on your father's good side."

"I'll... I'll try," Grant said. After he took his entire costume off, he went up to talk to Marle. "Uhhh... hi dad," Grant said to him.

"Oh, I see you took that stupid outfit off," Marle said. "You ready to be a real creature?"

"I... I just want your approval," Grant said.

"You need to work for that approval," Marle said.

"Dad! I just wanna get through this challenge peacefully," Grant whined.

"Is that so?" Marle asked.

"Uh, hate to break up the Father/Son bonding period," Bertram started. "But everyone else is outside working on their boats."

"Please dad," Grant said. "I just want to spend time with my mom."

"Awww, don't worry, we can do that," Naomi said.

"And I want to get away from Marle ASAP," Grant muttered to himself.

"What did you say!?" Marle yelled. Marle quickly smacked Grant on the cheek after that comment he made. Grant immediately started to cry and ran out the door of the helicopter. His mom felt a bit sorry for him.

"Marle, don't you think you were being a bit hard?" Naomi asked.

"He needs to learn some respect," Marle stated.

"But making him cry like that?" Naomi asked. "Now that I think of it, he's not cried like that since he was level twelve."

"Hmph! It's obvious we birthed a sissy," Marle stated.

As the families were getting situated, they could hear Grant running by them. He was crying the whole time. Kiki found this suspicious as usual, but Wren felt sorry for him. Drenig kind of did too. Jet thought nothing of it. All the parents... didn't know what to think.

-Confessional Session(Kiki)-

"I suppose I'll never be able to prove Grant's evil ways," Kiki said. "But I will never let my guard down. I have a sneaking suspicion he's crying just to get sympathy from us. ...However, I'm not going to try and antagonize him further in case I'm wrong."

-After Confessional-

Eventually, the families got their start on the boats. Wren and Kiki's parents were working with their kin side by side. Eventually they started to converse about things.

"So... you're a black belt in karate?" Dimitri asked.

"No, we're black belts in Judo," Ryoko mentioned.

"...What's the difference?" Gerdy asked.

"They're two separate fighting styles," Kanji mentioned. "Judo's all about grappling and using your opponent's force against them."

"I don't mean to be a braggart, but I was quite renowned for being a great fighter in school," Dimitri said.

"You?" Ryoko asked. "You don't look like the fighting type."

"Oh? They how about a friendly dual?" Dimitri asked.

"Dad, we're trying to build a boat," Wren stated.

"We need to figure out how to power the boat," Kiki said. "Is there a strong motor we can use?"

But Kiki's father ignored her. He didn't think much of Dimitri and wanted to see what he was capable of.

"Well... you ARE a fairy type," Kanji said. "And it's true neither fire nor fighting moves would actually be able to harm you much..."

"Just kick me or punch me then," Dimitri stated. "...Preferably in the gut somewhere."

"Dad! The boat!" Wren shouted.

"It's alright dear, I can help you," Gerdy said. "What if... we used a spinning mechanism with a crank and two wheels with two paddles each?"

"That... sounds like a fair idea," Wren said.

Ryoko was helping her daughter too. They had a different idea.

"Hmmm, what if we used sails and tried generating wind," Ryoko asked her daughter. "I'm sure we could find a propeller of some sort."

"Are you sure that would work?" Kiki asked.

"Not entirely, but you could use your arm strength to do the generating," Ryoko suggested.

"Well... maybe, but my arms would get tired," Kiki stated. "Still... it's worth a try."

Kanji was thinking about Dimitri's offer. Eventually he decided to go with it.

"Fine," Kanji said. "Just don't be surprised if this hurts."

Kanji thrust his foot right into Dimitri's gut. ...Dimitri didn't even budge or flinch.

"Now try again, this time my face," Dimitri said.

Kanji took his foot away from Dimitri's gut and then threw a fist at Dimitri's face. Dimitri grabbed Kanji's arm and then he pulled Kanji into his body before locking his arms to his weight. Kanji flailed about trying to escape his grasp, even going as far as to kick Dimitri a few times but nothing worked.

"Argh, let go already!" Kanji shouted.

"I spent a lot of time at school fending off Dragon and Fighting bullies," Dimitri stated. "My classmates call me Dimitri the Defender."

"Hmmm, it's true that you are quite strong for your species," Kanji complimented. "But I'd like to take you on in a real fight just to be sure."

"NO!" Kiki, Ryoko, Wren and Gerdy all shouted in unison.

"Maybe some other time," Dimitri said. "We have to help our offspring build a boat."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Kanji replied.

Later, over by Drenig and his parents, mom was helping Drenig build. ...But Mortimer was having a hard time doing so.

"I envy you fingered creatures," Mortimer said. "Being able to pick up a hammer and a wrench and being able to use them. I wish I could do that."

"By the way, ay son," Ignatia started. "How as life treatin' ya in tha villa? Hows ya job at the mechanical shop?"

"Ay made most of my best friends there," Drenig mentioned. "Including one of my best friends Richter. He's an Excadrill."

"Errr... how do they grab stuff, they don't have fingers either?" Mortimer asked.

"Ay, they sorta do, they're just claws," Ignatia stated.

"Richter has to be really careful," Drenig mention. "Ay tell ya one thing, Richter has a serious passion for L.A.R. P. ing as a space knight. One day ay went to one of his conventions, and that's where I met Dustin."

Meanwhile, next to his station, Drenig saw Jet and his father putting together a motor. They were testing it out and it seemed to work.

"Ha! The competitors are toast!" Jet shouted.

"That's the spirit, boy!" Squall encouraged.

Meanwhile, Shadow was supervising. She started to eyeball Drenig's ship and notice he didn't even have a mechanism for moving the ship yet.

"Especially from what I'm seeing," Shadow blurted out.

"Uh, you know you could make yourself useful and find some oars," Squall mentioned.

"Why, he already has a motor," Shadow said.

"Well just in case the motor doesn't work out, he has a back-up plan," Squall mentioned.

"Are you second-guessing yourself?" Shadow asked.

"No, I'm sure, I just think we should have a plan B," Squall mentioned.

"Dad... what could POSSIBLY go wrong?" Jet asked.

That sort of scared Squall. That was a sign that something was, in fact, about to go wrong.

"Shadow, please get the oars," Squall said.

"He said..." Shadow stuttered.

"Just get them!" Squall shouted.

"Fine, fine," Shadow mentioned as she trailed off.

Drenig couldn't help but smile at Squall. Even if Jet and his mother were total dinks, Squall seemed like he could be a likeable guy.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"I do kind of admire Squall for, well, let's just say being smarter than his wife and kid," Drenig mentioned. "I think if Squall apologized for what he said to Dimitri, I would actually have some respect for him."

-After Confessional-

Meanwhile, Grant was working by himself behind a tree. He only had a few boards put together. He... was not making good progress on his boat at all. Eventually, Naomi came to her son's aid.

"Grant? ...Do you want to talk?" Naomi asked.

"Oh... hi mom," Grant stated.

"Son, I know Marle can be a jerk at times," Naomi said. "But you have to realize he's only trying to help you. He just wants you to be a civilized creature and he... doesn't exactly agree with the fact that you like to act as an evil scientist and, personally... I'm not sure it's best for you either."

"I grew up watching cartoons mom," Grant stated. "I've always liked the bad guys. I never truly wanted to be one, but I still like pretending to be one."

"How do other contestants feel about it?" Naomi asked.

"Some accept it, others do not," Grant said. "If everyone hated it, would I likely have gotten this far?"

"I... I don't know," Naomi said. "But remember, your father loves you and cares for you. He's just... trying to look out for you."

Grant started to think for a bit. He was unsure what to say.

-Confessional Session(Grant)-

"If I overdo the drama, people will just think I'm a sensitive crybaby," Grant stated. "...But I won't gain the competitors trust OR sympathy if I just man through it. ...Hmmm, how to use a happy medium to my advantage."

-After Confessional-

"He can help, just don't let him hurt me," Grant said.

"I'll try not to let him hurt you," Naomi said. "Marle... Marle are you there?"

Marle eventually approached the two. Marle seemed to show sympathy for his son.

"Yes... I'm here," Marle said.

"Marle... Let's help our son build the best boat we can," Naomi told him.

Marle bent down and hugged his son. He wanted to seem calm for his son.

"Yes, lets leave the others at the shore," Marle said.

"Huh? Wait, what's going on?" Grant asked himself. "Oh no, now Marle's acting like a father to me. This is going to ruin the sympathy I'm trying to get. What to do."

"Huh? What are you mumbling about?" Marle asked.

"Dad, that was a soliloquy, you're not supposed to hear that," Grant said.

"Uhhh... you know you can't actually preform a soliloquy with people around, right?" Marle asked.

"It's true," Naomi mentioned.

"Anyway, I found something that should prove to be useful for our boat," Marle said.

Eventually, Marle brought out two very large fireworks rockets. Then he pulled out a shard of glass.

"Attach these rockets to the boat, tie the fuses together, then use this glass to direct the sunlight to the fuse to burn it," Marle said.

"Mwehehehe, excellent," Grant said. "Duh, I-I mean... Wow, thanks dad?"

"Don't forget these wooden paddles for when the fireworks fuel runs out," Naomi told her son.

"Thanks mom and dad," Grant said. "...But we still need to make the boat."

Eventually, everyone's boats were made. Wren's boat incorporated two makeshift paddle wheels, Kiki's used lots of wind and a sail, Jet's used a motor, Grant's used rockets, and Drenig's used... something different. He had two balancers at the sides of his boat, and a small motor, much smaller than Jet's but it had a square slab covered in a big cloth.

"Gee, nice boat Drenig loser," Jet said.

"Please, you have too wide of a boat," Shadow mentioned. "Boats need to be slender."

"Unfortunately I also need a boat that supports my own weight," Drenig mentioned.

"Then you shouldn't be riding a boat then," Jet said.

"Sorry man, but that's the challenge," Drenig stated.

"I have to wonder, how long have you put up with that guy?" Mortimer asked Drenig.

"Oh, you would not believe," Drenig said.

"Does your boat even have a way of moving around?" Shadow asked.

"Oh, trust me. It's far ahead of what you got," Mortimer stated.

Eventually, Bertram and his parents came to the beach to explain the rules. Each of them were carrying bombs and jackets.

"I hope you had fun building with your son and daughter," Bertram said. "However, I am afraid your sons and daughters will be going on their boats alone."

"BUT fortunately we have flying cameras we can use to show the situation at sea," Bartholomew mentioned.

"All your sons and daughters have to do is swim to the side of the boat, climb onto it, then go through the ship till you reach the engine room, then steal a life-raft on the ship and sail back to shore," Bellina explained.

"Each of your sons and daughters will also be wearing these jackets," Bertram mentioned. "In the back of the jacket is a big pocket to keep your bomb in."

"The first son or daughter to place an explosive in the ship and return to shore will win," Bartholomew mentioned.

Bertram started to hand out the jackets and the contestants put the jackets on. But the parents were a bit worried.

"What happens to the hard work we put in with our children?" Gerdy asked.

"We will salvage them later," Bertram mentioned. "The blast from the bombs should only be enough to sink the ship, they shouldn't be able to destroy nearby boats as well."

"What if a bomb blows my son up?" Squall asked.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Bertram asked.

"Oh right, not real bombs," Squall reiterated.

"Err, maybe we should quicken up the chit-chat," Bartholomew stated. "The boat's almost out of sight."

"Right," Bertram stated. "Alright Team Mol-Tres, start your engines and devices!"

The contestants got into their boats to prepare for the challenge. There was a good feeling among the contestants."

"You know, after all those challenges of going to a big place and fighting bad guys, this is a nice breath of fresh air," Kiki mentioned.

"There could be bad guys on the ship though," Drenig mentioned.

"So what, I'll take them on," Jet mentioned.

"Your parents will be watching the entire situation on screen," Bellina mentioned.

"There are screens everywhere on the peninsula," Bertram mentioned. "And of course there's one nearby."

"Ummm, Kiki?" Ryoko called out before Kiki left.

"Yes mom?" Kiki asked.

"We just wish you the best of luck," Ryoko said.

"Remember your training Kiki," Kanji said. "You've got this. You've got this whole competition in the bag."

"...What training, you mean for the boat?" Kiki asked. "...Oh wait, never mind."

"So, without further delay..." Bertram started. "Take your marks and.. GO!"

Wren and Kiki were the first to move their ships. However, Kiki's was a little faster. But eventually, Jet reved up his motor and he was right out of the gate, quickly going past Kiki.

"Ha! That's my son!" Shadow called out.

"...That's OUR boat," Squall mentioned.

But meanwhile, Drenig pulled the cloth off of his slab to reveal solar panels. His boat was the third to leave, but his solar motor wasn't as fast as Jet's motor. But Drenig knew he had one thing going for his motor: Longevity.

Grant was the last to get his boat going. He seemed to be struggling with the glass.

"No no no no no no no no, come on," Grant whined. "I have to impress my father."

But suddenly, he managed to ignite the fuse on his rockets. Suddenly, his rocket blasted forward: Past Wren, past Kiki, past Drenig, and way past Jet. Grant was the last to leave, but he had the fastest boat. The contestants could hear him cackling as he sped past.

Meanwhile on the shore, Bertram was about to lead their parents to the screen. The same one he tried to get the contestants to build flying machines on.

"Well, care to watch the race?" Bertram asked. "I'll make popped Cornn berries."

"Ay, no puff-cornn fa me, no thank you," Ignatia blurted out. "Gets stuck in mah gums, and it's a kick to tha sunshine getting all tha pieces out."

"Good thing I don't have gums," Ryoko mentioned.

As the parents walked off, the contestants were on their way to Dagger Eyes barge. Who would be the first to make it back alive.

**-Hate to Barge In-**

"Ha! My boats faster than there's!" Grant shouted as he watched the ocean. Eventually he neared the boat. "Now, all I have to do is wait for the rockets to stop, then row... uhh... wait a minute! ARGH! NO!"

Grant's rockets propelled the boat so fast and far that the boat flew past Dagger Eye's barge. The rockets were still propelling him forward.

"Curse you FATHER!" Grant screamed into the blue.

This let the door wide open for Jet, as he was getting closer to the barge as well. Jet was feeling pretty confident.

"Ha! Looks like that Grant kid's not there," Jet said to himself. "Just a little further and..."

But suddenly, Jet's motor stopped. It had run out of gas.

"Oh come on, not now!" Jet cried as he pulled hopelessly on the cord, trying to get the boat to go. "Come on, come on! We're almost there."

This let the door open for Drenig to come from behind. Drenig couldn't help but smile at Jet's misfortune.

"What's the matter Jet?" Drenig asked. "Did your motor run out of fuel? Mine has a limitless source!"

"Har-dee-har-har!" Jet called out. "Now how you actually going to stop the boat?"

"Put the cloth over it!" Drenig called out.

"And how do you get on the ship without a place to CLIMB OFF OF!?" Jet called back.

Drenig stopped to think for a moment. Something recently dawned on him.

"...Maybe that's why boats only have balancers on one side," Drenig said to himself.

-Confessional Session(Drenig)-

"Okay, so I'm not a boat expert!" Drenig shouted. "We at BigBoss motors generally only work on land vehicles. We don't work on boats very often, especially not non-mechanical ones. You only see those ballancers on non-mechanical boats."

-After Confessional-

As Drenig got to the ship, that's where his quandary reached a breaking point. How would he get off his boat and onto the ship? He could not swim.

"Nargh, man I didn't think this through," Drenig said to himself. "I could saw through the balancer near the boat with my teeth, but... that would technically be cheating. I could try to jump, but there's no way I'd make it. ...I could turn the boat to it's bow. ...No, the stern is sturdier I think. ...But then again the motor's in the way. ...Bow it is."

Drenig tried to turn his boat so that the bow of the boat was facing the ladder on the side of the ship. After successfully doing so, he reached for the bars of the ladder and grabbed a hold of them. ...Then he realized he couldn't climb very well either.

"Oh man!" Drenig shouted as he couldn't get proper footing on the ship to reach his feet to the bars. Poor Drenig.

Meanwhile, Kiki was coming up on Jet. She saw Jet trying to row his way to the ship and couldn't help but smile.

"Motor thing didn't work out, did it?" Kiki asked.

"Hey mama, your ba-ba needs upsies," Jet said, pointing to Drenig who was dangling on the barge's ladder.

"...He's not my "ba-ba," Kiki said. "And "ba-ba" usually refers to a babie's bottle, not the baby itself."

"Well in any case, it doesn't look like you're not going to get on board until you get past the big guy," Jet said.

"No problem, he's the least of my worries," Kiki taunted back.

Eventually Wren caught up to Jet as well. He... actually thought nothing of the fact Jet wasn't using his motor. But Jet couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey pipsqueak," Jet called out. "Nice ride there."

"Thanks, me and my parents built it," Wren said.

"Now see, normally you only have to say something once. No one likes being told things over and over," Jet said. "Also, I was being sarcastic."

"Are you sure your boat's any better?" Wren asked. "Your mechanism seems very basic."

"I originally had a motor, but that broke!" Jet shouted out.

Eventually, Kiki swam her boat to the side of the ship where Drenig was still dangling. Kiki shook her head at the sight.

"Need a little help big guy?" Kiki asked.

"Ay man, help would be nice," Drenig said.

"Okay, but remember the second I get up to the top you're done for," Kiki stated.

Kiki pushed under Drenig's feet and tried her hardest to lift him. Eventually, Drenig managed to grab a higher bar and reach his leg to the lowest bar. He was then able to pull himself up and climb the ladder.

"Thanks Kiki, I owe ya one," Drenig said.

"No problem," Kiki said.

As Drenig got high enough, Kiki climbed the ladder next. She had no problem pulling herself up.

Meanwhile, over with Grant, he was still waiting for the rockets to wear off. ...Not a very fun task.

"Ugh! My father is always ruining everything!" Grant shouted. "The other contestants are probably at the boat by now! Oh if I go home because of him..."

Finally, Grant's rocket thrusters wore off. This made Grant slightly relieved.

"Phew, that is finally over," Grant said. "Now I have to sail back to the boat. Ugh, but I'm farther away now. ...I'll just have the meat the boat there. It's still moving so I can get there fast enough. ...Hopefully."

Eventually, Kiki made it all the way up the ladder to the deck of the ship. Drenig was at the top of the ship, looking around for something.

"Huh, Kiki?" Drenig asked. "I... don't see anyone here."

Kiki looked around the deck. She too found it odd that there weren't any guards up there.

"That is odd," Kiki said. "Why aren't there any guards? Did Dagger Eyes run out of militia?"

"Maybe Dagger Eyes didn't think we'd actually know about the boat," Drenig stated. "Maybe He got too confident this time around."

"In any case, we have to find the boiler room," Kiki said.

Just then, Wren had come up on deck. He smiled as he saw Kiki and Drenig at the top.

"Hey guys," Wren said. "Good luck in the challenge. Of course you'll have to race me in the process." Wren started thumping his left foot, which showed a general sense of confidence in Wren's abilities. "And just so you know, racing on land's just about my forte."

Wren immediately got into a sprinting position and shot down inside the ship. Deep down, Kiki and Drenig were not feeling confident with themselves.

"Do you think we can outrace him?" Kiki asked.

"Ay know one mon who could," Drenig stated. "Maybe we should focus more on making sure Jet doesn't."

"Drenig... Our parents are watching," Kiki mentioned. "They'd want us to at least try. Any other time I'd be on board with that idea, but right now I'd rather make my parents proud so... I'm gonna go for it."

Kiki ran off down the hall and left Drenig in the dust. Drenig was unsure what to think about the situation.

"Well ay don't have any snowball's chance," Drenig said to himself. "So maybe..."

Just then, Drenig heard Jet climbing up the side of the ship. Jet had just made it to the top.

"Ha! I'm still in this race," Jet said.

"Ay man, not so fast!" Drenig shout.

"Not so fast?" Jet asked. "I invented fast."

Jet walked up to Drenig who was in the doorway of the hall. Drenig thrust his arms out, trying to block Jet's path.

"You shall not pass!" Drenig shouted. "...I watched a lot of movies with Dustin and Richter."

"What the heck!?" Jet shouted. "Drenig! Behind you!"

"Come on Jet, no one falls for that anymore," Drenig stated.

...But suddenly, Jet hopped around Drenig. All Jet needed was a slight distraction to throw him off.

"Oh well, worth a try," Jet stated as he hopped past. "You're too slow Drenig!"

"Drat," Drenig said as he tried his hardest to run after Jet.

-Confessional Session(Jet)-

"Trying to outrun Drenig is like trying to outrun a rock," Jet said. "The only difference is that Drenig is even slower."

-After Confessional-

Grant had finally made it back to the barge. He was really trying to hustle to catch up with everyone. When he got to the top, he was quite angry.

"Ugh, I'm too far behind," Grant shouted to himself. "There has to be a shortcut somewhere. ! And there it is!"

Grant eventually found a hatch across the ship. Grant noticed it was closed, which may have suggested no one used it. He pulled on the hatch and it was locked tight, which CONFIRMED that no one used it.

"Looks like everyone took the longer route," Grant said to himself. "I still have a chance!"

Grant eventually opened the hatch and started to climb down it. He was hoping to catch up with everyone else and beat the others to the boiler room.

Meanwhile, Kiki was running through the ship. She STILL had not encountered any guards. ...Nor had she caught up with Wren. ...But it looked like Jet caught up to her.

"Hi Kiki! Bye Kiki!" Jet shouted as he hopped past.

"Oh no you don't!" Kiki shouted as she ran after Jet.

Meanwhile, Wren had just made it to the boiler room. He was the first to make it there. Eventually he found the main pressure tank that he assumed he was suppose to set the bomb on. Wren quickly placed the bomb there and then ran off back up the ship. It didn't take him long to pass Jet.

"I'm gonna beat you this time!" Wren shouted.

"Hmph! So he still remembers the time I shamed him in the very first episode," Jet said before he looked at the location of the bomb. "Well, we will see about..."

Suddenly, Jet heard a loud noise. He looked over in the room and saw Grant climbing down a ladder. As Grant hit the floor, he saw Jet and started to get worried.

"So that shortcut wasn't short enough," Grant said to Jet.

"Hmmmm, shortcut huh?" Jet said as he placed his bomb down. Jet was starting over towards the ladder. That's when Grant decided to think fast.

"Hey doggy! FETCH!" Grant shouted as he threw the bomb at the other bombs.

Grant quickly climbed up the ladder. But Jet was climbing not just the ladder, but Grant too. As Jet grabbed onto Grant, Grant started to panic and he fell. He took Jet with him in the process.

...But Jet recovered from the fall quicker. Jet raced back up the ladder and onto the deck. Grant followed him in suit.

"Ha! Bye bye losers!" Jet shouted as he ran to the side of the boat

Just then, Kiki got to the boiler room as well, and heard Jet's cry. That's when she saw Grant climbing up the ladder. She knew things were not well. Kiki put her bomb down and raced after the ladder, climbing up it after Grant.

...But soon, things became a four-way race as Wren came out of the hallway and back onto the deck. He was sprinting off to the side of the ship when he saw Grant and Kiki climbing up the hatch.

"How did you guys get here?" Wren asked. "There was a shortcut?"

"No time to talk," Kiki said. "Jet's in the lead right now!"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let him outrace me again," Wren said as he, Kiki and Grant ran to the side of the ship where they saw Jet carrying a lifeboat off to the side of the ship. Jet was looking confident right now.

"Light's out losers, time to eat Jet stream!" Jet said as he climbed down the side of the ship.

Grant followed Jet down the ship. Grant was trying to beat him as well. Kiki was next, and she was about to jump off the ship. ...But then she thought of something.

"What's the hold up?" Wren asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Drenig's still back there," Kiki said. "You go on and beat Jet Wren, I have a task to do."

Wren saw Jet get into the water and start to paddle off. Grant was right behind him. But Wren wasn't going to try and climb slowly down the ladder with a lifeboat: it would take too long. So Wren grabbed a lifeboat, hopped to the edge and jumped off.

"Cannon ball!" Wren shouted as he plummeted to the water with his raft. Wren tried to get in his raft as fast as he could and then paddled off as fast as he could. Although he had the least amount of qualms with Jet, he was still determined to beat him.

Meanwhile Kiki ran to the hall of the ship. ...It did not take her long to reach Drenig, as he was running up the ship at the time.

"Drenig!" Kiki shouted after bumping into him. Drenig eventually pulled the bomb off his jacket and put it down on the deck.

"I'm sorry," Drenig said. "I just... I tried but I didn't want to waste my time in an event I had no shot of winning."

"I suppose there will be time for disappointment later," Kiki said. "We have to catch up to Jet, come on!"

Eventually the two ran off to the side of the boat to get their lifeboats. They were trying to join the chase as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Grant was treading behind Jet. Jet seemed to be really cocky at this point.

"Tough luck Grant, looks like you're going home today," Jet said.

"I don't think so frog-face," Grant said as he tried to catch up. "Once I race past you, no one will forget this day that you lost."

"Ha! As if you have any shot at besting the best!" Jet called back.

"The only thing you're best at is having a gigantic ego!" Grant shouted.

"Awww, feeling a burn?" Jet asked. "Here, let me cool you off."

Suddenly, Jet splashed water at Grant using the lifeboat's paddle. The splash hit Grant's face, and Grant tried to power through it. ...When suddenly, Grant started to show some very unusual actions.

"Oh no, the furries can swim too?" Grant asked as he looked around the water. Suddenly, Grant looked up and started to panic. "AHHH! GIANT KRAKEN!"

Grant was having nightmares again. And it was safe to assume the "Kraken" he mentioned were just nightmare images of Aria. Suddenly, Grant started to panic and went overboard. Grant was pretty much out of the race at this point and Jet couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha ha! Nothing is in my way now!" Jet cried. "I win! I WIN!"

"Guess again, upstart!" Suddenly, Jet looked back and saw Wren paddling away at the water. Wren was going pretty fast and he was gaining.

"Argh! No way, I'm too far in the lead!" Jet said as he started paddling with all his might.

...But Jet was getting nervous, and that was costing him ground. He kept looking back and saw Wren getting closer and closer. Jet tried what he did to Grant by splashing water in Wren's face, but that did nothing. Eventually Wren caught up to Jet.

"What's the matter Jet?" Wren asked. "You getting nervous? Maybe you should take a few breathes and relax."

Ironically, Wren was actually trying to be helpful. Maybe Wren was gaining confidence again.

"Nice try Wren, but I'm winning this race!" Jet shouted. "Take this goody clown-shoes!"

Jet tried poking at Wren's lifeboat, trying to push him away. It was slowing Wren down, but Wren didn't give up. He fought back.

"No way! I'm gonna win this for my friends," Wren said. "And for my family!"

Wren and Jet started to battle it out. They were trading blows left and right trying to knock each other about.

"You're not passing me, pipsqueak!" Jet shouted.

"Just watch me!" Wren countered.

Jet took a mighty swing at the side of Wren's lifeboat and knocked it to the side.

"Ha!" Jet shouted in confidence.

But Wren came back. Wren leveled up his boat again and took a mightier swing right at the front of Jet's lifeboat. This sent him way off.

"Huh? No! NO!" Jet cried as we went of the path.

...But that wasn't the worst part for Jet. Jet looked down at his boat and it now had a hole in it. Jet's lifeboat was sinking.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jet cried as he tried frantically waving his paddle around. ...But Jet got nowhere fast. Eventually, Jet sunk into the ocean.

Finally, Wren had made it to the shore with his lifeboat. Wren hopped out of his boat and thrusted his paddle in the air triumphantly.

"I did it!" Wren proclaimed proudly. "I beat Jet!"

It was as sudden as that that Bertram and all the parents came onto the shore. Bellina went out to the water to see if she could fish Jet out of the water, and Wren's parents were there to give him their best wishes. ...You guessed it, Dimitri gave Wren his best hug.

"My son! Congratulations!" Dimitri yelled.

"Way to go champ!" Gerdy proclaimed in suit.

Eventually, other contestants got to shore. Grant was the first to reach shore. Grant eventually walked over to his parents with a bit of sorrow in his face. Kiki and Drenig appeared on shore at about the same time. They walked over to their parents. And eventually, Bellina came back with Jet in her arms. Jet was shivering right now. Not from the cold water, but at the thought of losing a challenge he thought for sure he'd win at.

Marle looked down at his son in anger as he came up to him. Grant looked up at his father, showing the sadness in his face. Marle saw his son's sadness, and showed a little bit of sympathy for him.

"...You did your best," Marle said with a smile. "That's all you can ever hope to do is your best."

"Really? Thanks dad," Grant said happily.

"Awww, that was nice of you to say Marle," Naomi said to him.

"Yeah well you are kind of right," Marle stated. "Maybe I should start being nicer."

Drenig and his parents were watching the situation unfold. They all thought it was heartwarming.

"Awww, maybe that Marle character isn't such a bad dude," Mortimer stated.

"Ay we don't even give aw own son that kinda encouragement," Ignatia mentioned.

"Oh you guys don't have to feel bad," Drenig said. "Trying to better ourselves is part of being mortal."

Eventually, Drenig and his parents joined in a hug. They were happy for each other.

Meanwhile, Kiki was talking to her parents. Kiki seemed kind of disappointed.

"I guess being a black-belt in Judo doesn't translate to being cold and serious in competition," Kiki stated.

"Not necessarily Kiki," Kanji said. "But you did portray one of life's most important lessons."

"The way of the warrior should not be to fight your foes," Ryoko started. "But instead to fight for your friends. And we admire you for caring about your friends safety."

"That's ALSO part of being mortal," Kiki said, implying she heard what Drenig said. Eventually, Kiki's parents ALSO joined for a group hug.

...But one family was not happy right now. Shadow was angry at her son for losing. Squall still did try to stick up for him.

"Aww come on Shadow, he put up a good fight," Squall said.

"Brrr, thanks dad," Jet whimpered. Jet hugged his father tightly, but was still shivered and shamed when he was doing so. Shadow still looked angrily at her son.

And that ended today's challenge. Everyone headed back to the bunkers were a party would be thrown.

**-Don't worry: It's only Three More Days-**

Back at the bunkers, Mignon had prepared cake and ice-cream for everyone. And being the winner of the challenge, Wren and his parents got first dibs at the cake. Of course, Dimitri was about to take a bigger piece than he needed before Gerdy stopped him.

"Now now, Dimitri, leave some for the others," Gerdy said.

"Oh, sorry about that," Dimitry said, cutting off his piece till he had a more reasonable chunk.

The party ensued for a little bit before Bertram came into the bunker they were celebrating in. Then he began to announce something.

"I hope you enjoyed parents day at Quarantine," Bertram said.

"I... I did kind of," Grant said as he looked up to his parents. "Marle's not shown this kind of compassion in a long time.

"If you really do wish for respect, you only need to ask," Marle said before hugging his son again.

"I've not so humiliated in my life!" Jet whined. "Right in front of my mother!"

"A wise man once said," Kanji started. "Big ego sees big defeat, big ego becomes big loser, big loser throws big tantrums."

"Where does it say that in any wise words?" Ryoko asked.

"He may have made it up," Kiki said. "But it seems to hold true. A lot of times, the people with the biggest egos are the poorest sports."

"Alas, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Bertram said. "It is time for your parents to say goodbye."

"What? We can't stay for the night?" Mortimer asked.

"Ay aint no seen my son in a long time!" Ignatia shouted.

"I wish I could allow you to stay," Bertram said. "But tonight we will see another elimination... and I'd rather you not see your offspring leave in such a devastating ceremony."

"It's not like it's any secret who's going home," Shadow stated.

"Mom, don't you think I feel miserable enough!?" Jet asked.

"Jet... I don't think I've ever been more ashamed of you in my life," Shadow said before she walked out the door of the bunker. Squall, on the other hand, tried to be more supportive towards his son.

"Don't let her words get to you," Squall said. "She still loves you. And you should know I love you too."

Squall gave his son another hug to comfort him in his sorrow. Eventually, everyone was giving hugs out to their beloveds.

"Goodbye mom and dad," Drenig said to his parents. "I'll be sure to send you some of my winnings if I win."

"Goodbye mom and dad," Grant said to his parents. "And thanks for being supportive dad." Grant then muttered something under his breath. "Even if I wanted you to mistreat me to get sympathy from the other contestants." ...Marle nor Naomi noticed him saying that.

"Goodbye mom and dad," Kiki said to her parents. "I will never forget my training... or all that you two have taught me."

Eventually, everyone started to leave the bunkers. But before they did, Wren decided to call something out.

"Hey Squall!" Wren shouted. "Before you go, mind apologizing to my father for what you said to him earlier?"

"Oh... yeah I'm sorry for calling you fatso," Squall said before shaking Dimitri's hand.

"Hey, no hard feelings," Dimitri replied back.

Eventually, all of their parents were heading up to Quarantine's exit. Kiki, Wren, Drenig and Grant went outside to say their last farewells. Outside they saw Bertram giving a hug to his own parents. He seemed to be squeezing Bartholomew especially tight.

"Thank you for coming mom and dad," Bertram said to the two. Eventually, Bertram shed a tear. "It's nice to see you guys here. ...You got to see how successful your son has become. ...Are you proud of me?"

"Of course son," Bartholomew stated. "We would be happy to be your parents even if you were poor and not successful."

"Take care son," Bellina said. "And good luck in future endeavors."

Finally, all the parents were heading out the door where the Quarantine chamber would usually be. Before they left, they all called out back to their offspring.

"Bye!" They all shouted out.

"Bye!" Kiki, Wren, Drenig and Grant called back.

And with that, the parents were gone. This was a day the contestants would probably remember most fondly in their time on Quarantine. ...Everyone except Jet that was.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Soon, night came and so did another Quarantine ceremony. Everyone gathered at the usual spot and Bertram started it up.

"Okay... I suppose I could make this short and sweet," Bertram said. "Wren is safe, Kiki is safe, and Grant is safe."

Jet was still shivering at the moment he lost. He seemed to have been devastated.

"I should have won that challenge," he whined.

"Jet," Bertram started. "You could be going home because you're probably the most unlikeable creature any of us have ever met." Bertram then turned over to Drenig. "And Drenig... oh what's the point, Jet's the only one who voted for you. Which means it's finally time we say goodbye to the annoying yapping football frog."

"No! This isn't over!" Jet whined as Bertram was dragging him out. "Next time! There will be a next time!" Even after Bertram threw him in the chamber, Jet was still wailing. "I will defend my honor next time! I will defeat every one of you! Everyone who did me wrong!"

Finally, Bertram pushed the button and the chamber filled with gas. And yet, you could STILL hear that annoying frog.

"YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF MEEEEEEEE!" Jet called out from the fog.

But finally, FINALLY, it was all over. The smoke cleared, Jet was gone, and viewers can rest easy knowing he will not be the winner of Quarantine.

"This almost feels like a cause for another party," Bertram said. "But four contestants left, and tomorrow is the day we try to end Dagger Eyes and his campaign. You guys should rest for now, because tomorrow will be a big day."

Eventually everyone went back to their bunkers. It didn't look like anyone left the area unhappy. Eventually, Bertram went on to do the epilogue to the episode. ...Right after blowing into a handkerchief.

"Jet's finally gone and my parents got to see me be successful," Bertram cried. "This is the happiest day of my life." ...Then Bertram got more serious. "Next time on Quarantine we will finally put an end to Dagger Eye's game. ...But with two more episodes after that, what will we do with the rest of the show? Oh well, I'll figure something out. Until next time we say goodbye for now."

**-Next Time On Quarantine-**

_"This should have been done a long time ago."_

_Contestants must scour the peninsula in search of Dagger Eye's potion factory._

_"It can't be that hard to find."_

_But will Dagger Eyes unleash his ultimate wrath upon the contestants._

_"Finally time to unleash... the Hypno-bots!"_

_Contestants will REALLY need to use their heads in this episode if they want to stay alive._

_"I need to do all I can to realize my quest."_

_Will the contestants such down Dagger Eyes factory and put a stop to Dagger Eye's evil plans._

_"Oh... I sure hope so."_

_All this and more on the next episode of Quarantine: Potion Pariah._


End file.
